Hello again, my readers! Welcome back to A Spark of Hope! I'm so glad you're all still here! ^_^

Another life update, I've been quite busy in real life, with online tutoring and something else taking up a bunch of my time. I'm also trying to keep up with my friends. And recently, I took a break from the Boruto fandom on Twitter because of the toxicity and anger some people have towards me. I'll be back soon though, and you can follow me on LawlessSophie7 if you want!

One good thing that happened today: Leni Robredo announcing her run for the presidency of the Philippines. In my opinion, it's only her and Ping Lacson who are great, clear-cut choices for president. The others can fuck right off. Especially Bongbong Marcos, son of the former US-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos. But I digress. Let's see who will be running for senators and VP, among other things.

With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter! Love you guys!

Chapter 7: Reconciliation With The Past

Two women walked through the thick, foul smog of Marumi. The haze of the industrial center of the Land of Rain was enough such that even though it was an hour from noon, neither of the two women could see clearly past ten meters or so around them.

One of the women, whose blond hair was mostly tucked into her black trenchcoat, wore a fedora hat, a heavily tinted pair of shades that hid her eyes, and a face mask that looked like a rebreather.

The other woman, with dark brown eyes and long flowing hair whose color matched the eyes, wore a surgical mask and a dark bandana over it to cover most of her face, except for her eyes. She also wore a waterproof coat to protect her from the relentless falling rain that lent the region its name.

"The smog is worse than the last time we were here," the brunette sighed while trying not to breathe too deeply. She could smell the pollution even with her masks on.

The blonde nodded to her partner. "When were we last here again? Three months ago?"

"I think so. It was you and Amado two months ago, and then Grado and your man Koji last month."

"Three months ago…" The pair walked along a road that was lined with factories. "I think there's the culprit," the blonde kunoichi told her partner. "Last time we were here, those factories weren't open yet."

Thick black smoke oozed out from the many exhaust chimneys, some of it mixing with the tiny falling drops from the clouds, some managing to break through the clouds, but most of it failing to rise higher, instead hovering just above the ground.

"There are so many factories here now…" The brunette stopped at an intersection and looked around. As far as she could see and hear, factories were churning and hissing with the cooling of molten metal, the clanging and banging of hammers and mechanical tools, and the thuds of the workers loading of products into the backs of trucks and vans. She was also able to see the name and logo of the company that operated the factories they had just passed by. "Weapons of Modern Warfare. They're a firearm manufacturing company…"

"Mass production of weapons for the war effort. A lot of gunmakers and explosives manufacturers are springing up here in Marumi. The necessary infrastructure is here, the testing site is nearby, and the freight trains to Ame and the other cities take an hour at most."

The two began walking once again, although they were careful and looked both ways to avoid getting hit by trucks. "These factories now supply the small army of the Land of Rain with more than enough high-quality weapons and ammunition. And soon they can start exporting to the rest of the Shinobi Union so their armies can use it."

The woman with fair skin and brown hair replied, "That'll bring in a lot of money for Lord Yahikonan and this country."

The pair got back to the train station of Marumi, having walked around a few blocks of the polluted city to sightsee and pass the time. They walked up the stairs to the platform hub, in time to see a train from Konoha arrive. "What time does our train leave?"

"We have ten minutes, though we can board in five." The blonde walked over to a nearby vending machine, put in some coins, and got two sodas. She opened one and gave the other to her partner. "Let's just sit back and relax for a bit."

"Sure. We've been walking for a while now. My feet need rest too."

The blonde sat down on the bench beside the vending machine and toasted her soda. "Here's to looking after Nue…"

But as the brunette sat on the bench and opened her own soda, she saw a younger woman, with the same shade of long brown hair and charming brown eyes and fair skin tone compared to her own, walking out of the train from Konoha. She watched as another woman, this time with shorter brown hair and a green-tinged forehead protector, jumped out of the train and wrapped her long arm around the first girl. Afterwards came many more people, all of whom seemed to be part of one large group of friends.

"...Legretta!"

The brunette snapped to attention and glanced at her partner, who had forcefully whispered to her. "Sorry Delta, what is it?"

"Look at me, not at them… You were staring. They might become suspicious of you."

"Sorry, I didn't realize… Wait, you recognize them?"

"They're shinobi and kunoichi from Konoha. We fought them when we attacked Konoha, so some of them know me."

Legretta sighed. "Well, at least you have that cool fedora and those nice shades on. They probably won't recognize you."

Delta nodded. "And I highly doubt they'd know who you are. You've never run into them before, right?"

Legretta shook her head, and turned back to see them walking down the stairs to the road below. Most of them were maskless as they descended down to street level, but a few placed handkerchiefs on their mouth and nose. One of them was the first woman that Legretta saw, walking hand in hand with the short-haired girl whom Legretta quickly sensed was her significant other.

Delta, who saw and figured out what her friend was looking at, leaned towards her and whispered, "That's Namida Suzumeno and Wasabi Izuno. Those were the two I fought in Konoha three years ago."

"Umm," Legretta asked, "which is which?"

"Namida's the one that looks a lot like you."

"Ohhh alright," Legretta nodded in response.

As the two watched the large group walk into the thick smog and into the enclosed restaurant center on the other side of the street, the nagging feeling returned to Delta. It was an odd feeling she had had for a couple of years now, albeit only coming up in rare circumstances. "What if," she thought to herself, "what if she is Legretta's child?"

But she again decided to keep it to herself, not to tell her friend about it. She didn't know nearly enough about Namida, personally or her backstory. "Feremar," she noted internally, "the Kara Inner working inside Konoha, never provided us any files regarding Namida. Nor has he been providing much as of late, due to the Intel Division crackdown. So this whole idea is mere speculation."

As such, she didn't want to raise Legretta's expectations or give her false hope that Namida was her long-lost daughter, just because of their similar looks and one similar type of jutsu that they share, however rare it was. She felt Legretta deserved more proof than that. She deserved better.

The last thing Delta wanted to do was to hurt her friend, or otherwise let her down, for Legretta was someone that she had grown close with over the past few years.

Soon, she then heard the arrival of another train on another platform, this time coming from the opposite direction as the train from Konoha. It was coming from Ame.

"That's our train. Let's go."

*******XXXXXXX*******

Denki sat quietly at one of the many tables inside the food court, where the air purifiers and air conditioners were working tirelessly to keep the air inside clean, compared to the hazardous mist of pollution that floated outside. He was finishing a rice bowl with menchi katsu, as well as a mango milkshake that he bought from the stall nearby, the stall with the sign, "It Takes Two To Mango".

On the same table sat Iwabe, Chocho, Inojin, Himawari, and Shikadai, who were also finishing their lunch meals, most of which were burgers. While Chocho, Shikadai, and Inojin were listening to Iwabe's stories regarding the expansion of Konoha and the new construction projects for residential areas, Denki glanced around. Every time he saw one of his friends, his eyes lingered on them for a second before moving on, for he was making mental notes.

"Boruto, Sarada, Shikadai, Inojin, Chocho, Iwabe, Wasabi, Namida, Hako, Enko, Houki, Gengania, Panga, Conwi, Fujibayashi, Ivyred, Tomoka, Yamada, Mikawa, Konohamaru-sensei, Moegi-sensei, Hanabi-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei. There are… 24, including myself… 24 survivors of Mount Tirad here right now… But as it stands right now, it's not enough. We really need to try to get everyone back together…"

Denki fiddled with the straw of his shake. "Either we still need Mitsuki and Nue, or 'it' was only suggested but never implemented before Tanuki Shigaraki's death… And unfortunately, according to Sarada, Mitsuki cannot join us at the commemoration and that we cannot all meet up with him in person, for it might reveal his survival to Lord Orochimaru… That may very well compromise not only him, but his team, the people he lives with and cares for now, and Ame in general…"

The young scientist and professor let out a slight sigh. "Or at the very least, make things so much more complicated than they need to be…"

Meanwhile, Sarada and Yan approached their table, where Boruto, Konohamaru, Hanabi, Wasabi, and Namida were sitting. Yan asked them, "Do you want to come along with us?"

Boruto asked in reply, "Where are you going?"

"We're going to look around the city," Sarada told them. "Panga invited us to come with them."

"What about the smog?"

"We won't be out there for too long."

Boruto thought about it for a second. "Okay. I'll come along."

"Same here," Wasabi followed.

On the other hand, Namida told them, "I'll stay here. I'm still waiting for my dessert."

"And it's probably better for you not to breathe in the smog too much. You have your mini-concert tomorrow at Rem Fortress, after all. We don't want you to hurt your voice or your throat or your lungs before then, especially given the thin air over there."

Namida kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. And before they left, Konohamaru added, "Be back in around 15 minutes. Then we'll gather for the train ride to Ame."

Sarada, Yan, Wasabi, and Boruto then walked towards the double glass door entrance way, where they joined up with Panga and Gengania.

Wasabi asked, "Where are we going?"

"My old house," Panga replied. "It's just a few streets away. Three minute walk from the food court."

The group of six strolled out into the street, the doors of the food center automatically shutting behind them. The smoky fog was thick, smelling of fumes tinged with metal and sulfur and burnt rubber. It was borderline noxious.

Yan asked Panga, "You used to live here?"

Panga turned around to look at her friends, her long black hair whipping around her sides as she did. "I was born here. I lived here until I was 10 years old."

She then stopped at an intersection and read the sign to her left. "We're not far. This is Pampanga District. It should be a few hundred meters down this road."

Gengania looked puzzled. "Pam...panga? As in, your name?"

"Yep. 'Pampanga' itself means riverbanks. It refers to the Yaman River that flows through the city from Kudarat Forest. My parents named me after that." She chuckled and continued, "Panga is the diminutive of Pampanga, so it's my nickname and what everyone here calls me."

The group of six followed the lamplights along the sidewalk. After a minute more of walking, they stopped in front of a gray house, its coat of paint noticeably new and fresh, and its brown gate similarly having been painted over with a fresh coating. From where they stood, they could see the imposing trees at the edge of the Kudarat Forest in the distance.

"This," Panga pointed to the house, "this is my family's ancestral house. My parents still pay for it to be maintained. They've been living in Taki since they were accepted as refugees after the war began, but they can visit every so often. They can't stand the pollution for too long, though."

"It's not healthy to stay here for a prolonged period," Sarada agreed. "It's so bad…"

"You know," Panga noted to her friends, "this place wasn't always like this. It wasn't paradise by any stretch of the imagination, but it was much cleaner back then. That all changed when Lord Yahikonan ordered the factories to move out of the city of Ame. And at the same time, he formally designated this city as the country's industrial center. So all of those factories that polluted Ame began to move here. That's when my parents and I emigrated to Iwa, since we had close relatives over there."

"It was Lady Konan's plan to clean Ame's environment," Sarada replied to defend the Sixth Amekage. "She only left it to her son to implement."

Yan nodded. "I've seen how Ame was before the factories left. The difference between Ame back then and Ame now, it's like night and day."

"I know that," Panga lamented. "I know that it truly helped Ame and the people who live there. But the problem was only dumped off to my city for Ame's benefit. Until now, Marumi suffers for it, and it's only been getting worse as new factories keep opening."

"Well, it's true that Marumi is the place that suffered the most environmental degradation," Yan conceded. She then suggested to Panga, "Maybe later when we arrive at Michishirube Tower, you could ask Lord Sixth Amekage about possible environmental aid and funds to help Marumi?"

"It's a good thing I brought my laptop then," Panga told them. "I'll show him my Environmental Engineering thesis on the air and water pollution in Marumi and the Yaman River."

"Ohh right," Gengania said, "you guys have thesis requirements for your final year in Civil Engineering."

Panga laughed. "I'd already be a graduate by now, but only some of my academic units carried over from NULE to KU. It's fine though, I'm not really in a rush."

"National University of the Land of Earth," Gengania sighed, with her voice showing some longing. "I sort of miss being there. I had a life there, and I still have friends over there whom I worry about. On the other hand, Konoha University is so much freer, and more importantly my life and safety isn't really threatened back home compared to Iwa…"

Panga agreed with her best friend and then continued, "After I graduate, I'll take a two-year masteral course in Hydro and Environmental Engineering. Then I'll try to get a job and help solve the crisis here over the next few years. At least, that's the plan as of now."

*******XXXXXXX*******

From his room on the eighth floor of the Michishirube Tower, Naruto watched the rain falling over the bright shining lights of Ame. The moon was shrouded by the clouds in the night sky, a bright patch of yellowish mist in the wide gray haze above.

Hinata and most of the others in the group joined along with the plan of Chocho, Wasabi, and Namida in going to the Lake Ame beachfront for night swimming, although Sasuke and Sakura were at a restaurant nearby, and Sarada and Yan were having dinner at Kirakira's place, where they would check up on Mitsuki and the rest of his team.

There was a knock on his door, followed by the voice from outside the room. "Lord Hokage, the Lord Sixth Amekage and the Lady Fourth Amekage are ready to see you."

"Thank you. I'll be there shortly."

Naruto stood up from his position on the sofa, looked in the mirror of the bathroom to make sure he looked at least presentable, and then left his room. He walked to the elevator a short way down the brightly lit yellow hallway, pressed the button, and waited for it to come up.

After a few seconds, the light signal flashed, and the elevator doors opened. Naruto quickly walked inside, only to recoil at the sight of the person standing near the elevator button panel. "Gah! What the-"

"Ohh good evening, Lord Seventh! Hehehe, I just finished my shift tonight, so I could join you guys for the meeting!"

Risha, the former Fifth Lady Amekage and the head of the Rain's Watch police force, was standing in the corner of the elevator, her entire body dripping wet with cold rainwater.

"Umm… Lady Risha, are you okay?"

"Oh yes," she assured him, "don't worry about me. We're used to the rain here in Ame. Anyway, shall we go to the Amekage Chamber?"

Naruto slowly nodded, and she turned back to the button panel. She swiped her ID card once again to notify the Amekage Office on the tenth and top floor that they were coming. She pressed the button, and the elevator brought them up to the top floor of the Michishirube Tower.

The elevator doors opened once again, and they walked out onto the tenth floor landing, with Naruto following Risha along the bright and ornate hallway. The two of them stopped at a large doorway with two dark oak doors. Risha knocked thrice, and immediately Konan opened the door from inside. "I hope you two are having a good evening."

Then her eyes squinted as she saw Risha's state. With a deep sigh but no words spoken, she handed her a towel, to which Risha nodded in thanks. She let the two in, although she did envelop Naruto in a hug when he stepped inside.

At one of the sofas in the Amekage Chamber, Yahikonan was sitting beside his wife and his two kids. When he saw Naruto approaching, he greeted him, "Good evening, Lord Hokage."

"Good evening, Lord Amekage."

"I don't believe you've met my family yet. This is my wife, Kana. And these are my two children, Laphicet and Presea Nora."

"We are honored." The three bowed to Naruto in unison, in a sign of respect, before they left the chamber to go eat.

Meanwhile, Naruto sat down on the other side of the table from Yahikonan. Konan sat down between her son and Naruto, while Risha, now mostly dry with the exception of her long green hair, brought along food and drinks to the table and then sat opposite her best friend, Konan.

"A toast to old times past," Konan said in a lament while holding her glass of red wine up in the air.

"To the days of old," Naruto paraphrased her and raised his glass of champagne up in a similar fashion.

On the other hand, both Risha and Yahikonan raised their glasses for a different, more positive toast. "To the things yet to come!"

The four took sips from their glasses. "Naruto," Konan began, "we cannot thank you enough for all the aid you've sent to Ame. Financial subsidies, encouraging private investment here, and all the infrastructure that you and your friends helped us build over the past decade."

"And the military reinforcements as well," Risha noted. "Our combined regiment manning Rem Fortress is able to keep watch over those mountain passes and deter further invasion attempts there."

Yahikonan further added, "And while we've received a few scattered reports and sightings of mysterious people with unknown intentions near Rem Fortress, there's been no attack on the base, nor any attempts by the Land of Earth army to cross into our country. So we have you and the Land of Fire to thank for that."

Naruto smiled. "Of course!" He glanced at Konan, his former enemy turned good friend. "Many years ago, I promised to help you and your country. And I always keep my promises, you know?"

He took another sip of his sparkling champagne. "And I promise to continue helping your country. In fact, we're most likely further increasing the aid allotted for your country, given that the battlefront in the Land of Grass is slowly being pushed towards us, and the war is once again approaching your borders."

"You're making us a priority," the Sixth Amekage asked in confusion, "even though you have a war on your hands, even though you have the rest of the Shinobi Union to help, and even though your own country's economy isn't doing so well right now? I mean, thank you so much for your generosity, but even I think the money will be better spent with your country and with your city, rather than here."

"My advisors seem to think otherwise," Naruto replied to Yahikonan. "They are telling me that the Land of Rain will soon become an economic powerhouse because of your manufacturing boom over the past few years. The vast quantities of firearms and explosives being made right now in Marumi, you'll soon be supplying to us and the rest of the Shinobi Union. Once our military officials notify us of their approval for these new weapons to be deployed, you can export them and then rake in the cash for your country and the companies, some of which are from Konoha."

"But that's precisely what I wonder about," Risha pointed out. "If or when that happens, we'll be getting a massive influx of income. Doesn't that mean that we won't need as much financial aid as before? I agree with Lord Yahikonan, a better use of Konoha's aid might be to stabilize your economic situation, or perhaps as financial aid to those people in Konoha in poverty or who got laid off."

"We have our own solutions for the economic recession and the unemployment situation," Naruto assured her. "And I'll point back to what I mentioned earlier. The war isn't going so well for us. We've lost a lot of ground over the past three years, and although Shikamaru has now managed to stabilize the front in the area of Hush Fields, he told me that it isn't a guarantee that we'll hold the enemy there for long. We may lose more ground. We may even get pushed back all the way to Kusa and the Kûr River, which would leave your country vulnerable to another mountain crossing."

"This time not from Mount Tirad's passes, well-guarded as they are by Rem Fortress," Risha continued Naruto's logic. "But via the pass between the cities of Spur and Menas Unkûr, Spur's twin city on the other side of the Mile-High mountains in the Land of Grass…"

"Correct. That is the worst-case scenario that Shikamaru could imagine as of now. So we need to make sure that the manufacturing and exporting goes ahead, and we also need to secure the stability and safety of this investment, so that everyone can benefit. This, the money and arms we'll make in Marumi, may very well turn the course of the war. So our aid, both financial and military, will increase to combat the threat of attack."

Naruto then looked Konan in the eye. "And the other important reason why I want to keep sending aid is because I see it as the right thing to do. I see it as reparations for the atrocities and the mistakes that my country and other nations have committed against yours since even before the First Great Ninja War. It's repayment for the Great Ninja Wars and the destruction they wreaked on your lands, and all the covert operations that Danzo and his underlings performed. They stunted the growth of your cities and your country for a long time… And remember, I promised to lead the world to a better future, a future of peace and prosperity and justice for all. So I hope the aid I'm sending helps keep your current growth sustainable and high, to make up for all the lost time."

After he finished his explanation, the room was left in silence for a few long seconds, with only the rapid-fire pitter-patter of the raindrops striking the windows sounding in the background.

Finally, Konan broke the quiet pause. She asked Naruto, "You watched 'Liwayway', haven't you? You mentioned the First Great Ninja War as one of your reasons."

"Yes, I watched the film a few years ago. Sarada and Wasabi really pushed me to watch it, so I ended up watching it with them one afternoon after the work was all done. I learned so much of your country's founding and the events surrounding it."

"Did it shift your perspective?"

"Yes, it did. We were taught a different history when we were younger." Naruto then chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "That being said, I never really paid attention in my history classes back then, so there were bound to be things I didn't know about my own country's history, and mistakes of the Hokages before me which I didn't learn about. I did talk to some historians afterwards to make sure, and they confirmed that all the major details were true and based on what happened in real life."

Then he looked away. "I want that to be the history taught in our schools too. I don't want only the good events in our history to be focused on, but also the mistakes that were made, so that hopefully they won't ever be repeated. We're still trying to get the new and more accurate history lessons approved, but when we proposed the change, a lot of people opposed it, some of them influential and powerful in our administration."

"Because it looks like admitting guilt," Yahikonan concluded, "and they don't want that. It's understandable, but you should push it through regardless, for the good of the generations who will come after us."

Naruto nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Konan joked while sipping her drink, "At least our two countries are bickering over our versions of history, and not fighting over Ame and the Land of Rain anymore…"

A wave of mirthful laughter echoed in the room.

*******XXXXXXX*******

"This is the place," Sarada told Yan while pointing to their destination. They stopped at a two-story house with a white and blue wavy steel roof and an exterior wall painted pink and yellow.

Yan, who was the taller one between the two of them, held the umbrella above her and Sarada to protect them from the downpour on the city. "That's… a weird color scheme…" She shuddered whilst walking to the shelter of the front door and closing the umbrella.

"Oh right, you've not been here before. I just got used to it."

"I didn't know Kirakira liked these colors…"

Sarada replied, "It wasn't her. It was someone on her team though."

The two best friends looked at each other, Sarada's clear eyeglasses locked with Yan's blackglasses, and soon enough they both started giggling. "Magilou. Of course."

Sarada then pressed the button beside the door, and inside the house rang the sound of a pleasant bell. "Coming!"

The door swung inwards, revealing Eleanor inside. "Hello! Come in!" She closed the door behind them. "Sarada and Yan are here!"

Kirakira and Magilou had just put the freshly cooked food on the dinner table, while Velvet and Mitsuki were setting up the plates and utensils and glasses. But when they saw Sarada and Yan, they all stopped what they were doing and made their way to the doorway to give the two the warm welcome they deserved.

Sarada giddily rushed to them, nearly leaping into their embrace. "I'm so happy to be with you girls again," she told them.

On the other hand, Yan was relatively calmer in approaching the others, but her smile still stretched from ear to ear. "It's been a while since we last saw each other in person…"

"We're a bit bummed that more people weren't able to come," Kirakira admitted, "but we're glad you two are here. Now please, come and sit on the table with us."

"Weren't able to come?" Magilou pushed back, "More like, weren't allowed to come by your lord killjoy… I mean, your Lord Hokage."

As they took their seats around the dinner table, Sarada sighed. "I mean, it's for everyone's safety and privacy. There are cameras and smartphones everywhere, and people might want to take selfies with us and post them online. We're heroes and heroines in this country for the Battle of Mount Tirad, after all."

"And if they accidentally catch you guys and Mitsuki together with us," Yan added, "we might jeopardize your safety. The last thing we want is for Lord Orochimaru to know."

"He'll try his hardest to kill me and everyone close to me if he finds out I'm still alive," Mitsuki voiced his fear.

"In fairness," Velvet pointed out, "I post photos of our team and our hangouts online all the time."

Eleanor assured her and everyone, "That's safe enough. Orochimaru wouldn't be able to access it and see our pictures, not unless you allow him to follow your personal or your 'Flame of the Rain' account."

"That's never going to happen."

Sarada continued, "So yeah, most of the others are at Lake Ame beach right now, and since Namida and the others posted about it online, that's where all the attention will be. The less people here, the better it'll be for all of us."

Mitsuki frowned. "Will it have to be like this forever?"

Sarada placed her hand on her former teammate's shoulder. "Of course not. We'll come up with something eventually. Lord Seventh won't let you down. I won't let you down."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll be able to live freely sooner rather than later," Kirakira told her teammate as she poured cold water into seven glasses and passed them around. "As we agreed upon, no drinking alcohol tonight."

"Yes," Sarada replied. "We'll all have busy days tomorrow. Yan and I'll be waking up early for the climb up Mount Tirad, and you guys have to get up early too for your mission in Yaman."

Velvet, being the deputy leader of the team under Kirakira, nodded in agreement. "No hangovers for any of us tomorrow. Anyway, let's eat!"

The six girls and one Mitsuki took their shares of baked macaroni, burger steaks, carbonara pasta, and mashed potato with gravy. "There's also tiramisu cake for dessert," Eleanor informed Sarada and Yan.

"I love tiramisu!" Yan mentioned, her excitement evident in her voice. While everyone was eating, Yan was able to take a good look at the girls around her. Eleanor's brown hair now had white streaks on the right side. Meanwhile, Velvet, who sat in front of Eleanor, now had red streaks that complemented her black hair. And while Kirakira and Mitsuki retained their natural hair colors and styles, Magilou had now gone away from her former blonde hair altogether, instead reverting back to her plain black hair.

"I just want to say, I really love what you've done with your hair! You girls look even better in person than through the video calls!"

"Thank you," Eleanor and Velvet replied at the same time.

On the other hand, Magilou asked, "Is my natural hair better than my old yellow hair dye?"

"It actually is!"

"Thank goodness! I got so sick of people thinking that I'm the dumb blonde of the group… Now at least the blonde part doesn't apply." She snickered to herself, with her friends joining in the collective giggle. "By the way, what will be happening for the ceremony this year? Anything different?"

Sarada responded, "The usual commemoration rites, like laying wreaths on the markers of the fallen, and Lord Seventh making a speech and then talking with the shinobi manning the fortress. But aside from that, this time Namida will be livestreaming a mini-concert, where she'll be singing a few songs for the soldiers and her fans online. She and Wasabi are raising money for the Ainu people of the Land of Grass, who are bearing the brunt of the war right now."

"She also announced that she'll be debuting her newest song in tomorrow's livestream," Yan added. "That's bound to attract a lot of people to watch it and donate money. She literally has millions of subscribers throughout the Shinobi Union."

Then Sarada asked, "How about you girls? What's your mission tomorrow all about? Can you tell us more?"

"We'll be going to Yaman in the southeast part of the country," Mitsuki told her. "It's supposed to be just a local C-rank mission, but Lady Fifth, Risha, will be accompanying us tomorrow. She said it's out of an abundance of caution." He shrugged. "I don't know why that's necessary for a C-rank."

"It's not likely to be particularly dangerous either," Kirakira confirmed. "We're just supposed to guard some meetings, to make sure nothing bad happens. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle."

On the other side of the table, Eleanor sighed. "Well then… I suppose I should reveal it now."

"What are you talking about?"

"We're guarding an important trade union, Miike Struggle, whose leaders are meeting tomorrow on whether they'll push through with the coal strike. The thing is, the relevant coal mine is owned and operated by a subsidiary of… the Shiribeshi Clan Company…"

Eleanor looked away, her brown hair and white streak moving in tandem. "Your dad's company," Velvet finished her sentence for her.

"Yes. And my father is…" Eleanor grimaced. "Let's just say that he isn't above sending some violent thugs to disrupt union meetings to fulfill his own goals. He's done it before, and he's gotten away with it."

Yan asked, "Will your dad's hired goons still fight if they see that you're standing in their way?"

"I… I don't know. I know Dad won't be pleased with me getting in the way of his shady shit, but I've long accepted that both my sister and I will never be his favorites. So if they attack us tomorrow, then we'll be prepared."

"Come on," Kirakira confidently assured her, "with our training and our cool-ass weapons, it's nothing we can't handle."

"I've been hearing so much about your exotic weapons," Sarada said, her eyebrow raised.

Kirakira smiled. "Red Rose for Velvet, Shotspear for Eleanor, Shadow for Magilou, and Burn for myself."

"You… You even have names for them…" Yan asked further, "Can you show us how they work?"

"Later, we'll show them to you. We might need to go to the range though, just so we don't get any noise complaints here."

*******XXXXXXX*******

It was past 11:30 in the evening, and Delta and Legretta were walking in silence under the cold night rains of Ame. The pair had just left a fine dining restaurant, where they ate a fanciful dinner of well-done steaks.

Eventually, Delta ducked into the entranceway of an inn, and Legretta followed her inside. They folded their umbrellas, dried them as best they could, and approached the counter. With a sigh of relief, Delta removed her fedora hat and her dark shades, since she knew they were in a safe haven.

The man at the reception desk smiled upon recognizing Delta. "Welcome back. You're staying for the night, as usual?"

Delta nodded. "You know me well."

"Well, you and your man come by every few months, so it's only natural. Also, whenever it's you two that check in together, it's just so loud even in the early morning."

Legretta covered her mouth to suppress her giggles, while Delta rolled her eyes. "Sadly Koji's not here this time. I'll be staying with my friend here."

"...Should I expect more loud noises tonight?"

"No, no," Legretta answered him, "nothing of that sort. Sorry to disappoint you."

The receptionist responded with a hearty laugh and a shake of the head. He then turned to Delta. "Don't worry, tonight is free for both of you. You and your man paid double last time with the tips. And if your friend's telling the truth, I'll have a good long sleep tonight."

Delta thanked him and got the key to their room. She and Legretta went up the stairs to the third floor and opened their room, revealing a small, warm, cozy room, with a single bed and a view of the long sandy beach of Lake Ame nearby.

"It's good that you can still enjoy yourself in that way," Legretta said after she closed the door behind them. "You and Koji, I mean."

They put their bags beside the bed. "Of course. Koji is a master in all things lewd. What about you though? Do you not enjoy sex?"

"I… I haven't had it in two decades…"

"...Wow. You've really repressed yourself. Are you okay?"

"Of course I self-care, you know what I mean. It's just that I haven't found anyone I like. And I feel that I need to actually love someone for sex to be meaningful and enjoyable."

"I know where you're coming from," Delta replied. "And the good thing is, you're not much older than I am. What is it, a 5 or 6 year gap? I'm sure you'll find someone to settle down with eventually. Hopefully sooner rather than later."

Legretta sat down on the bed, while Delta asked once more, "What kind of person do you like?"

"That's the issue. I… I'm not really sure anymore." The brunette lay down on the bed, her arms at her chest. "I'd say I'm just not interested in banging random people, or spending time and effort looking for the 'right person' right now. To be honest, I don't know if I can fall in love again. Probably an effect of how my marriage went and the trauma I have from it."

"I want to understand your feelings and experiences better." Delta sat on the bed beside Legretta. "If you want to talk about it more, let's have a heart-to-heart."

Legretta paused, then nodded and told Delta, "After I gave birth to my baby, my then-husband stole her from me. He… sold her to repay our crippling debt…"

"Motherfucker! That's insane and cruel! Fuck! What happened to him? To whom did he sell her-"

Legretta held up a finger telling Delta to stop or slow down, and Delta closed her mouth and nodded. "Let's just say he's… no longer with us…"

"Good riddance."

"And as to where Ainouta ended up, I don't know. The trail went cold after I… confronted the person who bought her. He said he abandoned her at a random doorstep in Unkûr, but I couldn't find her." She put her hands to her face in frustration. "I've been searching for 19 years since."

"We'll help you find her. We, and by 'we' I mean mostly Amado, have some promising leads that we'll look into soon. But I assure you, if she's still out there, we'll find her and reunite her with you."

"But would she even accept me as her mother? What if she already has a happy and loving family? I don't want to end up ruining her life for my own happiness."

"I highly doubt that you'd ruin someone's life by being there for them. But it doesn't matter right now. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

Legretta sighed deeply. "I know you're right, but I just can't help but be afraid that I'll lose someone I love again, or someone I love leaves me." She gripped her chest. "I… I don't know how I can survive it this time."

Delta placed her hand on Legretta's hand and coaxed it to relax. She assured her, "You're much stronger than you say. You're much stronger than you think you are. How do I know that? You've made it this far, in spite of everything that happened.

Legretta exhaled. "Kani anakne opere henne kusir."

The room fell into an awkward silence, and the worry came to Legretta that Delta probably didn't understand.

"I can't even find my own daughter," she translated from Ainu.

Delta said, "I know. I understood what you said. I was just thinking of how to answer." After a few more seconds, she added, "Don't give up hope. As we promised, we'll find her eventually. And then you can shower her with your love."

The brunette smiled, both at the encouraging and reassuring words of her friend, and at the memory that was brought up by Delta understanding her language. "Ahh right, you lived in Menas Unkûr for a few years."

"Yeah. I moved from the Land of Water and bounced around, until I found a welcoming home in that city. In return, I supported the language and culture revitalization programs there, with money I got from the Scattered Ashes members."

"I've always wanted to ask you about that. Why did you help a language and culture that wasn't yours to begin with? Now I think I understand why."

"Because the people there helped me and let me live there? Of course that helped solidify my decision. But more importantly, I gave my support and effort because it was the right thing to do, and that since I had the capability to help, I felt it was my duty to do so. And hey, it worked out in the end. The culture and language are thriving in that city, the people there are happy, and the two of us are now co-leaders of the Scattered Ashes, the organization my father helped establish."

Afterwards, Delta fixed her pillows and crept under the warmth of the blanket, and Legretta followed suit. The latter asked, "Who will be on Nue watch next month?"

"I'm not sure yet. We have to make sure our pairings vary with the five of us, so we don't raise any suspicions from the other Inners. We can't let them know about Nue."

"Would it be a good idea if we told those shinobi and kunoichi from Konoha about Nue and its survival? You said that they're friends of Sumire, the former master of Nue. And you said that you trust some of them. Maybe her friends could take good care of them?"

Delta paused and thought about Legretta's idea. "I don't know. I mean, it sounds reasonable, but they might eventually reveal or let loose Nue in public in Konoha, even by accident. If a confirmed report or sighting gets anywhere online, Jigen and his group will know about it. Mocha will make sure of that. And furthermore, we don't know if the Hokage and his allies will trust us. After all, we attacked them years ago. It's likely not safe to talk to them, or reveal our identities and Kara affiliations to them. Not right now, at least."

"I'm just worried that Jigen and those Inners loyal to him will discover our secrets, or the plans that Amado has in mind."

"Jigen and Urashiki brought Kawaki to Isshiki's abode for training, and they've been away for a few months now. Amado said they won't be back for a long while. And the others are off doing their own things in Ryutan and other places."

Legretta was surprised. "I didn't know that part."

"None of the Inners knew about it at first, except for Amado."

"I assumed that they were onsite at the flying city, the Land of Sky. They're pushing through with Project Exire Haven, right?"

"I also heard about that from Amado. Yes, they're going to try to raise the flying city once again, so that when the world tree sucks the life out of everything on the ground, his followers will be able to live on, high in the sky of Earth. Life will continue to endure there for as long as it is possible in this solar system. His way of repaying them for their loyalty, I guess."

Delta scoffed and continued, "It's also another reason why we can't afford to have Nue revealed. The last time someone activated those Atlas engines, the floating island was brought down again, and the engines were severely damaged. Our scientists were looking at other potential sources of power and thrust, and Amado said that the Nue was a prime candidate for dissection and study for its Gozu Tennou. That was… before its 'demise' at Mount Tirad…"

"Hmm… A while ago at dinner, you said you were doing this as a secret favor to… Wasabi and Namida?"

"That's another reason. The two of them, along with Sumire, were there with my father Trajano when he died. And they may be good allies to have in the future…"

"You have better reasons," Legretta admitted. "I just think Nue is so cute… So squishy… And I want to protect it from all harm."

"You might just end up hugging the life out of it," Delta joked. She then looked at the time. "Hey, it's nearly midnight."

"Let's get some sleep," the brunette said while in the middle of a yawn.

The blonde nodded. "I'll get up earlier than you. I'll go to Spur and Mount Tirad at first light, to make sure everything is alright over there. You should sleep more and take the 8 o'clock train tomorrow."

"Are you sure about that? You'll be alright without me?"

"Yeah," Delta replied as the two of them settled into sleeping positions. "And you need it. Your eyebags are still pretty deep right now… Have a good one. Sleep well."

"Okay, if you say so… Thanks a lot. Good night, Delta."

How did you like the chapter? Feel free to leave comments and kudos and likes! The feedback helps me improve, of course!

What were moments that stood out to you? Delta and Legretta having their conversations (and also, the two of them beginning and ending this chapter), Denki doing big brain stuff, the big group hanging out in Marumi and Ame, more backstory for Panga and Gengania, the meeting that Naruto had with Konan, Risha, and Yahikonan, and the dinner scene with Sarada, Yan, Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, Magilou, and Mitsuki.

Trivia: Pampanga is a province in my country, literally meaning "riverbanks" because of the many rivers that flow through it.

I'm currently working on Chapter 8: "Reconstitution". It's a big one! It's a pivotal chapter that you can't miss! There's so much that'll happen! They'll be at Mount Tirad for the commemoration of the battle in the first book, Namida will have a livestream on the mountain (ala Sound of Music XD), and we'll have two opposing groups, one hunting for Nue, and one trying to keep it hidden, both on the mountain at the same time. And there'll be a... special surprise... for those who read it ;)

And I'll try my hardest to upload it next week (or maybe a few days after a week?), if I'm able to write more! See you guys then! ^_^