Hello everyone! Welcome back to the latest chapter of A Spark of Hope! It's been a while, sorry!

Just a quick life update: I'm reviewing for Civil Engineering boards exams (coming up this May), while trying to keep up with part-time job, social life and communications with my friends, my games, and now I'm in freefall in the rabbit hole that is KPop...

More specifically, the black hole that is Kep1er! I love Kep1er sooo much (Bahiyyih is my ult bias, though Mashiro, Yujin, Hikaru, and Dayeon are close enough that I'd call them my bias line, while the others [Chaehyun, Xiaoting, Yeseo, and Youngeun] are my bias wreckers). I really recommend their songs: WA DA DA, MVSK, Shine, and Another Dream! ^_^

In short, stanning Kep1er is like a full-time job, and I love every second of it XD

Still, I'll try to set aside time every night to keep writing! Key word, try :'(

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! =D

Chapter 9: The Amnesiac

"…Sumire?"

Boruto rushed towards the girl with long purple hair, who was trying to sit up on the cold path. He pulled her into his embrace, and the thought occurred to him that he never wanted to let go.

But without warning, she struck him on the cheek with an open palm and pushed him away with her free arm.

He scrambled backwards, feeling his aching cheekbone while looking back in shock at the person he thought he knew, the one who had just manifested and come back from the light. Her eyes were particularly scary to him. They were wild and not unlike the eyes of a cornered animal and they scanned the crowd that now surrounded her.

A more cautious Sarada slowly approached, with her hands at the level of her eyes. She gently grasped the girl's hand. "Hey, you're safe with us now, Sumi. You don't need to worry-"

"Who are you?"

"We're your friends," Wasabi assured her. "We've… We've really missed you. We haven't seen you in so long…"

"…Friends?" She clutched the sides of her head, and her face showed an expression of discomfort that bordered on pain. "I… I can't remember who you are…"

"Hey, don't force it yet," Namida smiled and rubbed her old friend on the back. "A lot's happened, to say the least. We're just glad you're here and that you look alright. Try to relax for us, please?"

The amnesiac began to relax and let her guard down among her apparent friends, since she felt them to be truly caring for her well-being. She turned to Sarada. "You called me Sumi? Is that… my name?"

"Umm… That's a nickname I use with you. Your name is Sumire. Sumire Kakei."

She looked at her soft, white hands. "Sumire…" She nodded and asked, "What's your name?"

"I'm Sarada…" Sarada watched as the girl, who was so reminiscent of Sumire, looked to be committing her reply to memory. "You really can't remember? Well, once we get off the mountain, I'll try my best to get you filled in and back up to speed."

"We'll do our best too," Namida beamed. "I'm Namida, and this is Wasabi. We're teammates. And this is Hanabi-sensei. She was the one in charge of us, our mentor."

"We were… teammates… Uhh, I hope I was a good teammate then."

Wasabi laughed. "Sumire, you were our team leader. You were the best of us, really."

"Really? Wow… I don't recall any of this. I don't really remember myself… But I'll trust you girls. It's not like I have any other options…"

Meanwhile, Yan walked up beside Sarada and extended her hand towards Sumire. "My name's Yan. I'm sort of Sarada's bestie, just like you two were."

Sumire grasped Yan's hand, and Yan shook it. "Bestie? Like, best friend or something?"

Yan gleamed. "Yup! I'm glad your brain's still working, memory aside. How are you feeling right now?"

Sumire exhaled forcefully. "I feel… Out of breath? Overloaded with new information? Confused? Unsure of everything that's happening right now?"

"Try to relax for us, please? You're not alone in this. We're here for you. I hope we'll be great friends from now on."

"Same. Thank you very much. You're so very kind."

While Yan basked and took in Sumire's words with utter joy, Sumire turned to the blonde boy she struck earlier, who was now approaching her once again. "Who is he?"

"This is Boruto," Sarada replied with a smile.

"Is he my friend too?"

Sarada chuckled. "You could say that…"

"I'm sorry for hitting you," the amnesiac bowed deeply, her head almost hitting Boruto's chest on the way down.

Boruto furiously shook his head. "No no no, it's alright. I startled you. That's my fault…"

While the large group of friends tried to talk to the newly-returned purple-haired girl to try to learn more about what just happened, many of the soldiers inside the fortress approached and took selfies and videos with the famed heroine of Mount Tirad to show their friends and families back in Konoha and other cities in the Shinobi Union. Sarada called out for her friends, such as Iwabe, Gengania and Chocho, and even her own parents, asking them to help deal with the growing crowd and to give Sumire some space, since she was clearly becoming overwhelmed with all the attention she was getting.

On the other hand, Naruto, Sai, Denki, and some others turned to the tiny Nues, which were celebrating the return and the reunion by jumping all around them on the main path in the fortress. They noticed that Legretta, the woman Sasuke was suspicious of earlier, was playing with them, and they were playing along with her.

"How are there so many Nues now?" Naruto asked her. "I thought only one was created."

"My working theory is that the original Nue went through asexual reproduction," Legretta replied with a humble tone. "It sort of cloned itself, as a cell would, perhaps to stave off loneliness, and also probably to help build and dig its lair into the mountain?"

"They have a lair?"

"An entire system of tunnels and spaces, hidden within the West Horn. It's leeward from the winds, and so it's more sheltered from the brutal cold."

"West Horn?!" Denki sighed, smiled, and shook his head. "Ugh, no wonder we couldn't find them. We were looking in the wrong place."

Legretta thought about replying that she didn't want them to find Nue at all, but she realized that it would likely lead to a more direct or aggressive line of questioning about her purpose and her allegiance, especially if Sasuke, Naruto, or the others were suspicious or were paying close attention.

So she left it unsaid.

Instead, Legretta chose to stay silent, hoping that the sudden return of Sumire and the revelation of the Nue colony would pull most of the attention away from her for as long as possible.

True enough, as more of the soldiers were ushered or led away by some Konoha genin, which included Chocho, Hako, and Enko, they began to take pictures of the Nues and play with the Nues, paying no heed to Legretta.

Whilst staying by Sumire's side, Namida noticed that the camera on top of the promontory, which had been filming her concert, had been turned towards them, and that it still had the green light on. Only then did she realize that the livestream didn't end.

"Hmm… I think we should expect great crowds in Ame and Konoha to welcome us back," she quipped.

"True," Sarada nodded. She turned to Sumire. "Just to let you know, you're pretty famous, so we might encounter a lot of people when we go back home."

"Actually," Sai suggested to them in reply, "until we decide what exactly to do and say, or at least know how to reveal it to the world, let's not spread this incident just yet. I'd first like to get control of the narrative and get the straight facts out as soon as possible."

Naruto said, "I'd agree, if it's still possible to hide or disguise Sumire on the way home."

"Well that's not going to happen," Namida informed them. "Everyone watching the livestream saw what happened here. That's millions of people across the Shinobi Union. There's no way that the news hasn't spread yet."

Naruto sighed and crossed his arms. "Then you're right," he answered Namida. "There will be throngs of people waiting for us when we return."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Sasuke admitted. "Certainly, there will be trouble in Konoha upon our arrival."

Sai shared Sasuke's fears. "The Fascist Fist, the Camp of the Saints, and their allied groups will almost assuredly organize lightning rallies to counter and harass those who'll come to support us."

"I'll contact our city police force when we get back to Ame," Naruto replied. "I'll have them place barricades and security layers to ensure safety and order, just in case trouble comes looking for us."

Sasuke then asked Naruto, "Where should we keep Miss Kakei and the Nues?" He gestured towards the girl as around a dozen Nues attempted to clamber onto her by her legs. But it was the original Nue, identifiable with his battle scars, who so easily jumped onto Sumire's shoulder, as if it had only been yesterday that it last performed that feat. Sumire was startled, though she instinctively began to pet him, and so he snuggled against her neck and relaxed on his familiar perch.

Sai smiled. "It looks like some of them want to come along with us."

"The others want to stay in their cave system nearby," Legretta pointed out, "since they were born here."

The original Nue let out a purr of approval, along with a nod, to make sure they understood his reply.

"That's okay," Naruto replied. "This could be their home base, and when we figure it out, we could summon them from here, just like our summoning animals."

"We could leave them in Akita's care," Denki suggested, referring to the Nues who wanted to accompany them back to Konoha. "Her lab will take good care of them, and they could help us in terms of research."

Naruto agreed. "Good idea, Denki. They'll stay secret and safe there." He then checked his watch. "Everyone, it's almost our turnaround time. We should start going back down to Spur."

Thus, the entire group headed to one of the storage buildings in the fortress, where their bags were during their short stay. After a few minutes, they walked through the open gates of the Rem Fortress, with Shinobi Union soldiers by the gates and on top of the walls bading them farewell. A dozen or so mini-Nues clambered and hopped onto the backs and shoulders of those who were about to descend Mount Tirad. The rest of the pack of Nues, numbering between 35 or 40, had already returned to their colony.

While Konohamaru led the way down for the rest of the party, Naruto took a few more moments to speak and shake hands with Colonel Takimichi, commander of the permanent garrison of the fort. At Takimichi's request, they also shared a pair of quick photos on his phone for remembrance.

With that done, Naruto and Sasuke, who was accompanying him at the rear of the line, walked with a brisk pace and quickly caught up with the rest of the party. For the past 15 or 20 minutes, Sasuke had been helping his daughters and their friends keep the soldiers at bay, so as to keep the resurrected, and notably amnesiac, Sumire Kakei composed and not frightened or overwhelmed with the whole situation. He didn't put one ounce of blame on the soldiers though, because they literally witnessed someone return out of thin air after years of being dead.

Now that he was free, it finally occurred to him to confront Legretta once again on who she really was and how she knew so much. But when he tried spotting her among the large group of people who were currently descending via the Spur Trail, he could not spot her.

"Perhaps she's near the front of the line," he surmised to himself, as Konohamaru and some others had already passed a bend in the trail around which he couldn't see.

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

"So this is where you were."

With a slight grunt of effort, Legretta gently scrambled up onto one of the twin Horns of Hod, where Delta was sitting down on the peak of packed snow. The brunette kunoichi sat beside her friend, and they observed the descending crowd through a gap in the passing clouds.

"So… she came back from the dead," remarked the blond woman with two black-striped purple eyes. "This may prove helpful to us in the future. Or perhaps not. I don't quite know." She turned to her trusted partner and friend. "You can see the future, right?"

Legretta rolled her eyes. "Not something I want to do. The future is always in flux, it's never set in stone entirely. The only things I can see are snapshots of how things would be for a person-"

"-If they stay the course, yeah I know, I know."

Legretta then zoned in on Namida beside Sumire, as she guided her down alongside her girlfriend Wasabi, Sarada, Yan, Boruto, and some of their other friends. "So she's the one whom you said knows the Fonic Hymns."

Delta glanced towards Legretta. "You're talking about Namida Izuno? Yeah, I heard her singing a while ago too. Apparently, she learned it from Lord Orochimaru, to further learn about her rare Sound Style affinity."

"...Where is she from?"

Delta had a feeling about where this conversation was going. "Officially Konoha… But she's talked on her vlogs about her terrible foster parents. Well, former foster parents, since she was disowned three years ago."

"So you're saying that maybe… she's not originally from Konoha…"

Delta gently put a hand on Legretta's shoulder. "Are you… thinking what I think you're thinking? Ainuota?"

Legretta gave a deep sigh in reply. "She looked just a lot like me when I was younger…"

"I don't want to give you false hope," Delta told her. "And unfortunately, we don't have her files. We don't have much intel about her either, other than what she lets out in her personal vlogs."

"I know… It's just… I don't know how much more coincidental it can get than this. Same color of hair, same color of eyes, same skin tone, beautiful and angelic voice… Her knowledge of the Fonic Hymns, her ability of Sound Style… And her being an adopted child…"

"We can pursue this lead, okay? But promise me that you'll temper your expectations. I still need you, as co-leader of the Scattered Ashes, and as a friend and partner. We still have a lot to do in these coming weeks…"

Though obviously still in deep thought, Legretta had enough mental presence to nod without saying a word.

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

Night had fallen over an hour ago, and a Rainways train blitzed through the darkness along its electrified line, taking its passengers from Spur to the capital city of the Land of Rain, Ame. The yellowish lights of Spur, which lit the snowy mountainside with a magical glow, were still visible from the train, as it had just left the Spur Metro Station a few minutes ago. Inside one of the cozy compartments, Sarada leaned back on her seat by the aisle. She was fiddling with a familiar black and white necklace, one that she had just taken out from her purse after remembering that it was there.

It was the necklace that she had gifted Sumire on her birthday three years ago.

More specifically, it was the yin and yang necklace, of which Sarada owned the yang segment and Sumire owned the yin segment. That fateful night of the descent, Sumire gave it back to her when she tossed her drawstring bag over the rockslide she had triggered. Ever since then, Sarada kept the two parts of the friendship necklace together, whole once again. She recalled the words that she spoke to Sumire at the time.

"It's a symbol of our friendship… that no matter how busy or how far apart we are, we'll still be best friends…"

"Always," Sarada spoke to herself. She then turned around and saw Sumire, two rows behind, locked in conversation with Chocho, Wasabi, Namida, Gengania, Himawari, Yan, and the others in their group. In particular, Gengania and Panga were explaining to Sumire how she had helped sow trust between their two groups after their surrender, as she went out of her way to connect with them for those five nights of the battle. They spoke of their resulting defection to the Land of Fire, helping their group during the fall of the Rem Fortress, adjusting to life in Konoha, and how they were making the most of their second chance there.

Unfortunately for them, Sumire showed no sign of remembering anything that they were talking about, instead showing clear signs of amnesia. But nonetheless, she put her trust in them and empathized with them, as everyone else vouched for the story and its veracity.

In fact, when Gengania delved into detail ragarding the dangerous redtagging that she experienced back when she stood up to Kurotsuchi as a student leader, Sumire rather loudly spoke, "She did that to you? She sounds evil!", much to the group's nervous laughter.

To Sarada, the mere fact that she showed her characteristic empathy signaled that it was indeed Sumire that had returned, not to mention that she looked the same as she did three years ago, and her voice didn't change much from what clear memories Sarada still had of Sumire.

However, she wondered if this Sumire was somehow incomplete, if she would ever be able to regain her lost memories, if they were missing or were merely locked inside her.

She sighed and kept the friendship necklace in her purse, for she knew that Sumire would not be able to remember it.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle and a few rows back from the crowd in the middle, Denki silently pondered about what had happened and how it happened. He reflected about the events of the past three hours. At first, since they couldn't find Nue and since Mitsuki wasn't allowed to accompany them for his own safety, he was despondent that the reconstitution wouldn't take place. But with the stroke of luck, Nue arrived in time with the help of that woman named Legretta. Their timely arrival and proximity to the rest finally tipped things over the edge of the necessary threshold for the reconstitution event, which was anywhere from "85%-95% completeness of essence" within a certain radius, according to the appendix of the Gozu Tennou that Denki read a week prior.

Thus, Sumire Kakei returned to them. But then Denki asked himself, "Is this even the same Sumire?"

For one, even though she looked the same, sounded the same, and had similar characteristics and aura, she didn't have the memories of the original Sumire. And furthermore, the original Sumire Kakei was destroyed in the explosion she caused three years ago. These particles and cells that make up this new Sumire, or whoever this amnesiac was, were surely not the same as the ones she had before.

Denki wondered for a second if this amnesiac girl had the same DNA as the Sumire he once knew well, only to swiftly come to the conclusion that she most definitely had at least a 99.999% match, as she looked pretty much identical to her in every possible way without genjutsu or other modifications. Anything less than that would lead to very obvious differences.

"If her DNA was off by even one percent," he reasoned with a smile, "she'd be a dolphin."

He took out his tablet and reread the Gozu Tennou manuscript, to see if there was a reason why this Sumire had all the motor functions, muscle memory, basic cellular functions, and short-term memory complexes that were necessary for life, but no memory of her past life. He wondered if this was a problem with her brain, or if it was a complication of the Gozu Tennou and the late addition of its reconstitution clauses.

Towards the rear of the train compartment, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sai, Kakashi, and the rest of the older generation sat in silence. Some of them were taking the time commuting from Spur to Ame to rest, while others were observing the conversations between Sumire and her old friends, while still others were racking their brains trying to figure out how the literal resurrection happened before their eyes. In particular, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were actively helping Sumire digest all the information her friends were giving her.

On the other hand, Naruto was on call with Lady Konan and Lord Yahikonan in Ame. The two of them had seen the video of Sumire's apparent return, as shown to them by Yahikonan's children, Laphi and Nora, who themselves were watching the livestream when it all happened. They also informed him about the growing mass of people who were flocking to Ame Metro Station, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the returned heroine.

News had indeed spread fast, far, and wide.

As Naruto filled them in with more details and asked for police presence upon their arrival at Ame in half an hour, Sai was in a different phone call, this time with the Konoha Police Force. He relayed Naruto's requests for protection and security for their return to the city, at around 10 pm later that night, to keep the expected crowds under control.

The sliding door at the back of the carriage opened, revealing Sasuke, who had just patrolled the entire length of the train. As Sasuke sat down behind him, Naruto ended the video call, reiterating to the Amekages that they would be at Ame within the hour, and then thanking them for complying with his request for security.

"We should have a meeting with our scientists," Sai suggested in a low voice just after Naruto ended his call. "So we can check if the Gozu Tennou had something to do with Sumire's return, if there's still any possible dangers from it, and if we can do anything to restore her memory."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Please contact Akita and her staff too. And give them full access to the Gozu Tennou manuscript. Get Denki on board too. He may have some ideas."

He then turned to Sasuke. "Anything to report?"

"That woman," Sasuke replied, "Legretta. She's not on the train."

Sai gave a nod. "I didn't see her board the train."

"Neither did I," Naruto affirmed. "Maybe she's having dinner at the Ainu Quarter in Spur. Or maybe she's on the train after ours. In any case, give it a rest. Please take your mind off of her."

"It's just… so mystifying… suspicious. She followed us all the way to Rem Fortress. She knew about the Nue colony, took care of them even, but kept them secret. She knew far too much for her to be a mere random passerby. And she disappeared from us, just like that."

Sai teased him, "Maybe you're also feeling that because she stood up to you earlier in the morning?"

Naruto let out a subtle chuckle as Sasuke sighed in annoyance. "It might just be me," the Seventh Hokage told his right-hand man, "but I'm thankful to her. She brought Nue back to us. And it seemed like that was the trigger that allowed Sumire to come back home to us too, you know? Yeah, we may not know her true purpose or her full story, but this Legretta and her role in our Sumire's return shouldn't be overlooked. So for now, let her go."

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

The skyline of the city of Yaman was silhouetted against the backdrop of the fallen night and the stars that peeked through the scattered clouds of the slightly overcast sky. However, the moonlight and starlight were overshadowed by the bright lights of Yaman and its numerous skyscrapers, apartment complexes, businesses, and homes. On the southeast bend of the Land of Rain near the border with the Land of Fire, Yaman was the modern metropolis of the country, with many slender high-rises of concrete, steel, and glass, jam-packed together in a relatively tiny but heavily urbanized area. And as it was the economic, trade, and entertainment capital of the county, the headquarters of most of the big companies and organizations of the Land of Rain could also be found downtown.

On the sidewalk of a busy street, Mitsuki, Kirakira, Velvet, Eleanor, Magilou, and the Lady Fifth Amekage Risha, trekked through the urban jungle, with their unique weapons holstered on their hips or on their backs. Eleanor took point and led the group of six, Team KVEMM along with Lady Fifth Risha, since she knew this city like the palm of her hand.

"So Eleanor," Velvet, who was walking beside her, asked the elegant white-streaked brunette, "how does it feel to be back home?"

"It's certainly refreshing," Eleanor replied. "Good change of scenery from Ame. I'll get to visit some of my friends in the music industry once we're done with the mission. You guys can come along too!"

"Ohh that's right," the team leader Kirakira noted. "You haven't been here in a while, haven't you?"

Eleanor shook her head. "Not since the last academic break."

Mitsuki, who was walking behind her, asked, "Did you miss home?"

"Hmm…" Eleanor hesitated slightly. "I mean, sort of? I miss my friends here for sure, which is why I'm excited to see them again later. But at the same time, I'm glad to be away from my father. I feel freer when I'm not cooped up in his mansion."

"You feel… free from your father?"

Eleanor picked up on what he was feeling. "Yeah, I do… I guess you can say that we're in similar situations. I mean, not that my father is out to kill me or anything like that. You still have it much worse. It's just… It's still toxic for me to be anywhere near him."

"I think I understand," Mitsuki replied reassuringly. "I'm glad to be free from my father as well."

Behind them, Magilou sighed loudly, enough for her friends to hear over the passing cars and the groups of people walking past them and alongside them. "And here I am, missing my father… I wish I spent more time with him while he was still around…"

Velvet gently grasped hold of Magilou's hand. "Same here…"

Kirakira then remarked, "I don't really know what having a father figure feels like. The closest thing I've had to a father figure would be Lord Sixth Yahikonan. And that's just because he gave me a home and some money and opportunities in Ame."

"What about a mother figure?" Lady Risha asked with a smile.

"There's you and Lady Konan. You both took good care of me, ever since I started at Ame Academy." The blonde smiled. "And now I have a family of my own, with these guys."

"Awww…" Velvet reacted with giggles before playfully teasing her, "My 'older sis' getting sappy?"

Kirakira stuck out her tongue and made a funny face. "As if you don't get sappy too from time to time."

"Here we are." Eleanor slowed down near a white building, which had a distinctive and fancy roof deck hanging above the steps of its front facade. It was supported by a few columns, trusses at the edges, and thin cables that hung from the floors above. Eleanor led her friends inside, greeting the security guard by the glass panes of the entrance. She asked him where the auditorium was, and the guard showed them the way to the grand hall, the doors of which were adorned with the black and red banners of the Miike Struggle union. They then thanked the security guard, who then returned to his post.

Velvet asked, "Shall we go in?"

"One moment," Eleanor replied. "Can we have a huddle here first?"

With the group obliging, Kirakira asked her, "What's up?"

"Well, I know that this is just a C-rank mission and all. Like, we're just supposed to make sure the union meeting goes off without a hitch-"

"Without disruption or harassment from outside forces," Mitsuki cut in unintentionally, having remembered the mission description. "And it's a C-rank, so it's not considered dangerous-"

"Yes yes," Eleanor cut him off in turn, although respectfully as she had learned to in her years of growing up in a rich and formal family. "But this is the Miike Struggle. This is the union of miners and most workers nationwide. And the meeting tonight will decide on whether or not they'll declare a strike for better pay and better working conditions. If the strike goes through, it'll cost my father and his companies millions. And knowing my father, he's not going to just let it happen, not without a fight."

"You told me that too," Lady Risha reminded her. She then assured her, "That's why I volunteered to come along. In case things turn violent, I'll make sure everyone stays safe."

"Here's the thing… That's if things turn violent. But my father has another trick up his sleeve: 'Sōkaiya'. It's a rather new tactic of his, and I've only heard about it recently."

Kirakira crossed her arms. "What is it?"

"Are you aware of 'uyoku dantai'? Do you know what they are?"

Lady Risha replied, "Yes, I've heard about uyoku dantai. Extremist right-wing trolls and provocateurs. Sometimes violent, but most of the time just outright annoying and irritating. What about them?"

"My father has been known to employ these uyoku dantai against those who stand in his way, whether they be rival companies or unions, basically anyone threatening his profits. He uses them as Sōkaiya, people who intimidate and disrupt meetings through raising allegations of sexual misconduct, misuse or embezzlement of company funds, or other humiliating or scandalous actions. Instead of hiring outright violent goons, which has gotten him into legal trouble in the past, he can get his way through this tactic because it gets through some loopholes in the laws, plus more plausible deniability."

"So," Velvet asked her, "what can we do if that happens?"

"We could try to prevent them from entering, but if for any reason they have the legal right to enter or to remain in the building, then we can't do much unless things turn physically violent. If that happens, we can't do anything except stand by, either until they get tired and leave, or until they're paid an exorbitant amount of money to leave. And that latter option is highly unlikely for this union."

"So you're saying that in that situation," Velvet summarized, "by law we can only intervene physically if they start physically hurting people?"

Eleanor nodded, and so Magilou remarked, "Well at least we have our work cut out for us."

Just then, a few old men passed by them going into the auditorium, but they stopped and turned around. One of them asked, "Ohh, you're the security team we hired for tonight?"

"Yes sir," Kirakira beamed.

"The meeting will be safe and secure," Lady Risha assured them.

"Thank you so much for even accepting this mission. Come inside with us. The union members are still organizing and assembling, so while we wait, you can go ahead and play whatever songs you want over the speakers. It's the least we can do to thank you, monetary payment aside."

The team of six followed the union leaders inside, taking their seats and positions near the doors. There, Eleanor was given access to the speakers, so she scrolled through her phone and picked a couple of new, upbeat songs to fill the auditorium with enjoyable music. In the process, she basically plugged some of the new songs that her friends in a girl group had just released literally the day before, to give them more airtime and exposure to a new audience.

"It's the least I could do to help them out," she reasoned in her head. "Hopefully they'll get some music show wins and top some charts soon."

The room gradually filled as more and more of the union members took their seats. By the end of the third song Eleanor had queued, which was just past 6:40 pm, the union leaders took attendance. All in all, the members and representatives of other allied groups under the same union numbered about 2000. Team KVEMM and Lady Risha watched as the leaders declared quorum and opened the meeting. Immediately, the relevant question was brought up, on whether or not the union as a whole was in favor of the strike for improved working conditions, higher wages, health insurance, and sufficient workers' benefits. One by one, the votes were to be counted and tallied by the leaders and their aides for formality and transparency, even though it was crystal clear that the motion to go forward with the strike had near-unanimous support.

A few minutes after the counting began, several distinct voices began to be heard from the lobby outside, and it grew louder and louder over a short period of time, as if escalating rapidly. Kirakira turned and glanced towards the doors. "Trouble?"

"Probably," Eleanor replied, in a hushed tone so as to not disturb the ongoing count.

Velvet asked, "Should we go out to guard the doors? If ever it's just a random argument happening outside, we could tell them to fuck off."

"Or we could stay here and hold the doors," Magilou suggested to her teammates. "You know, just in the apparently not-so-off-chance that there's an angry mob outside?"

"And we were told not to lock because some of the members were going to be late," Lady Risha quietly reminded them. "Velvet, how about we go and check what's happening outside?" Velvet nodded to her. "The rest of you stand guard by the doors," Lady Risha continued. "If we tell you to lock the doors, lock them. That'll only be if there's real trouble outside."

"Understood," Mitsuki remarked.

Velvet and Risha walked to the doors, the hands on their weapons, and forcefully opened the door. "What is going-"

They were greeted by a deafening, booming, disorienting screech.

"Fucking hell!" Velvet staggered back to the wall, her hands immediately covering her ears. "Geeez!"

Risha, with one hand covering the ear that was closer to the obnoxiously intense sound, pulled Velvet back towards safety, towards her team, inside the auditorium. "Velvet," she asked, "can you hear me?"

Velvet shook off the cobwebs in her head, since she still heard ringing in her ears. "I think I'm okay…"

However, as Risha helped Velvet back to her feet, around two dozen people trickled into the auditorium through the opened doors. They were armed with megaphones, as well as some bottles of water and beer, and with their megaphones and amplified voices, they disrupted the count and halted the meeting in its tracks.

"Stop this useless counting," demanded the user of the megaphone. "This entire meeting is null and void! You don't have the right to demand anything from the kind and benevolent Lord Shiribeshi! You dogs dare bite the hand of your owner who provides for you?"

"And your so-called leaders over there are nothing but frauds! They embezzle and pocket all the money you give them!" Another man held up a large object that resembled an open book, but to the keen eyes of Eleanor and the others, it seemed as if there was barely anything written at all on the open pages. "We have all the proof right here!"

"Uyoku dantai," Eleanor told her team. "Here comes the Sōkaiya."

Kirakira asked back loudly over the continued screaming of the megaphones, "And we can't force them out?"

"We can't get physical with them, not unless they turn physically violent themselves."

"If the union can't or won't pay for them to leave," Mitsuki asked, "how about we pay them instead?"

Magilou gave Mitsuki an incredulous look. "Do you think we have anywhere near enough money? If the union can't pay the sōkaiya to leave, how the hell can we?"

Mitsuki replied, "But Eleanor's rich though…"

"It's not that," Eleanor clarified. "If we pay them, then we'll be in trouble with the law. Paying off sōkaiya to leave is illegal, punishable by millions of ryo in fines or by years in jail." She shook her head. "My father knows all the damned loopholes in the law that can ever benefit him."

Lady Risha cut to the chase and asked, "Then how can we end this?"

"I don't know. They likely won't stop until the union leaders call the meeting off without resolution… That could take hours…"

Meanwhile, the sōkaiya continued to rant on his megaphone, "You owe your lives and livelihoods to the great and benevolent Lord Shiribeshi, who is so merciful as to even bother to give you jobs and opportunities for better lives! You're lucky to be given anything at all, given that none of you deserve it! You and your families ought to be grateful!"

"If you think three to five ryo an hour is something to be grateful for," the elder union co-leader rebuked the unwelcome guests, "then I dare you to do our jobs then. You wouldn't last the week!"

The provocateur, who had tattoos on his arms and a scarred face, cackled. He entrusted his megaphone to one of his friends and walked up to the old man. "You're the leader of this little attempt at rebellion, huh? I can put you down easily, put you out of your misery, cause it looks like that's what you want."

"We're not intimidated by thugs like you," the head of the union replied, with a firm and deadpan voice.

The leader of the uyoku dantai smiled devilishly, his scars showing prominently on his cheeks. "You know, you remind me of my grandfather… I always fucking hated my grandfather." In the blink of an eye, he pulled a switchblade and pointed it at the union leader, who recoiled instinctively. He continued with a wide grin, "You want to know what I did to him?"

"Stop right there." Velvet walked towards them, fully extending her blood-red sniper-scythe in the process, before leaning it onto her shoulder. The large curved blade caressed her long black hair behind her. Her silvery eyes locked on to the sōkaiya, those disrupting the meeting and impeding their mission, in case anyone around her made any sudden moves. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her best friend Eleanor, her shotspear in hand, following her lead to back her up.

"Why, hello there." The sōkaiya turned his back on the union leader and approached Velvet with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "You must be Velvet Croa… You're famous, one of the last survivors of the First Amekage's line." He began to circle around her and Eleanor, who now was back-to-back with her best friend. "And you must be Eleanor Shiribeshi, the daughter of the boss himself."

"So you are working for my father," Eleanor crossed her arms.

"He'd be so disappointed in you. You go and side against your own flesh and blood, against your own family."

"I know. I'm used to being a disappointment to him."

"How far the apple has fallen from the tree, just like your sister, tsk tsk tsk…" Eleanor's eyes narrowed, and she gripped the handle of her spear tighter, but she made no move against the man.

The sōkaiya looked around and scanned Velvet's teammates. "But what's more disappointing is… how low the kunoichi from Ame have come, since the times of Lady Konan…" He then looked straight in Velvet's eyes with a smirk. "…And your great-grandmother."

For a short second, Velvet held her ground. Eleanor replied to the leader of the uyoku dantai, "You think you'll get into our heads-"

With no warning, Velvet struck the sōkaiya in the abdomen with the black staff of her red war scythe. The scarred man staggered back a few steps, then burst into hysterical cackles. "A lot of fight in you," he said whilst drawing his switchblade and holding it high, on the level of his smiling lips. "I like that in my girls…"

Undeterred, Velvet readied her scythe. "Then you're going to love me."

Eleanor could only sigh. "Shit."

But before Velvet and the scarred man could come to blows with their respective weapons, one of the uyoku dantai members threw a glass bottle at Velvet. It fell short and struck the edge of a desk, whereupon it shattered, sending beer and jagged glass shards flying. Velvet recoiled, as she felt bits of glass peck the skin of her arms and shoulder.

"You bitch!" In response, Kirakira threw a punch at the one who threw the bottle at her friend. She tried to throw another, but Risha caught her hand on the backswing.

"Enough!" Lady Risha demanded, projecting her voice throughout the auditorium. "If this escalates any more, we will use necessary force! You just try to sue us then."

On the other hand, the sōkaiya glared at his subordinate who threw the bottle. "You made this a tainted victory! I had her handled!"

"No need for that anymore," the subordinate countered as he kept his phone. "She struck you first, and we have the video for it! Now let's get out of here!"

"Fine," the sōkaiya relented. But as he and his allies left, he couldn't resist throwing in some more taunts. "You're all in trouble. Lord Shiribeshi will see to that." He turned to Velvet, who was glaring at him while pulling out a couple of glass splinters from her skin. "And maybe one day, we'll actually have our match."

As the uyoku dantai left on their box truck in a hurry, those inside the auditorium heard them blaring out allegations of harassment and violence from the ninja team and the union that hired them. Meanwhile, Eleanor helped heal the slight wounds on Velvet with a medical jutsu.

"Velvet," Kirakira rushed to her friend, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Velvet reassured her teammates, who were now huddled around her. "I'm alright. I was more worried that the glass could have taken out my eye… It didn't reach that high up, thankfully." She then noticed Eleanor's expression, which made it obvious that she was in deep thought. "Is it bad, what I did?"

"Well," Eleanor replied, "you technically struck first, and Kirakira struck back aggressively too, but those sōkaiya were very rude and very belligerent, not to mention one of them threw a glass bottle at you. And they mocked some beloved public figures and heroes too."

"So even if they release their own footage," Mitsuki tried to summarize, "they'll look worse?"

"They'll try to evil-edit us," Kirakira mused. "I'm sure of that."

"But there's one thing I don't get," Magilou chimed in. She asked Eleanor, "What's your father's actual plan? Because now that the sōkaiya have run off, the meeting isn't disrupted anymore." She pointed to the union leaders resuming the count. "And the union will just declare a strike. Your father loses, and it's a waste of his time and money."

The scion of the Shiribeshi clan responded, "I wonder as well…" Suddenly, her eyes widened. She turned to Kirakira. "You're probably right that they'll evil-edit us in their footage. Once they release the altered footage, my father and the news sites he owns will likely frame the union as having ordered the violence. They'll try to turn the general public against the workers and their plight. If that happens, the union will have a much harder time to achieve their goals, since strikes and unions generally need the support of the people in order to succeed."

She sighed with the potential realization. "Perhaps my father doesn't intend on preventing the strike at all. I think he could be using this opportunity to weaken and break the union altogether."

"If he succeeds in destroying the power of the workers' union," Lady Risha continued the train of thought, "he can cut the wages as low as he possibly can without any more united resistance. And he can fire workers before they get their tenure and subsequent insurance and time-benefits."

"But all of that hinges on them getting only their side of the story out," Velvet pointed out. "We have security cameras inside the auditorium. We probably have phone videos from some of the union members too. I'm sure they'll fully cooperate with us, to clear their name and all."

"You're right," the team leader Kirakira agreed. "We can come out with our own story, with all the details and proofs we need, to counteract the narrative that Eleanor's father will spread."

The Lady Fifth Amekage, Risha, added, "The general public in our country trusts the Amekages more than the business leaders. I'll make sure that we sign onto the story you provide. Boost of legitimacy right there."

"That can work," Eleanor smiled. "Now, I'll go outside for a bit. I'll call my sister."

Velvet perked up. "Ohh Elena? Tell her we say hi and we miss her!"

"Will do!"

While the rest of Team KVEMM spoke with members of the union who had taken videos of the hostilities, Eleanor went outside into the lobby area, phone in hand, and called her sister, Elena, a soldier in the Shinobi Union Army who was stationed at Hush. Her smartphone rang five times before the familiar feminine voice answered. "Hey little sis! How are things over there?"

"Evening, big sis! We're doing okay… I mean, if you count having to deal with dad's sōkaiya and uyoku dantai goons as being alright, then yeah, we're doing just fine."

"He's up to his fucking machinations and loopholes-in-the-laws again? Disgusting, really."

"Yes. Either he's trying to prevent the strike by the miners and workers union from pushing through, in which case he failed, or he's trying to break the union altogether, to which we have a counteranswer… It got a bit physically violent a while ago."

The voice of Elena on the other side of the call mellowed and became more caring. "You and your friends alright? I hope none of you are hurt."

"I'm fine, and so are Kirakira, Magilou, Mitsuki, and Lady Risha. Velvet got hit by some flying glass shards, but it wasn't too bad. I got her healed up right away, after we got the sōkaiya to leave."

"Ohh, Lady Risha was with you? Ohh then you guys are in good hands. And I'm glad you were able to heal Velvet quickly. But all that aside, Dad's going to be pissed once he finds out what you guys did to foil his plans. Probably a bad idea to pass by our house over there."

"Pffffft, as if I had any intention of going anywhere near that manor tonight. But anyway, how about you? How are things in Hush?"

"Not much has changed. Line of battle is still around 70 kilometers west of us here in the Hush forward defense line. Personally, I suspect that the Land of Earth and allied Merikhan forces are massing beyond that, but we haven't spotted anything from our high hill. I also heard rumors a while ago that General Nara and the rest of high command are planning a counterattack to retake the caldera of Budajo town farther west, but no definitive news on that either."

Eleanor nodded. "In other words, same old… What about your two proteges or something? Neo and Rifa, right? How are they doing?"

"We trained again at the range today, Elena elaborated, her pride in her two trainees clear and evident in her voice. "Neona's working on beginner genjutsus, as well as her skills with the short blade at close combat range. Rifana is practicing with her bow and arrow, and I'm letting her try out my pistols and rifles. She's a burgeoning markswoman. Lots of potential for both of them, if they want to join our unit."

Eleanor chuckled. "Will they be better than you?"

"Perhaps someday, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves now, hehehe… Anyway, once your mission is done, what will you do? Will you guys go back to Ame right after?"

"I'll visit my friends later," Eleanor informed her, "the ones in the girl group. I'll introduce my teammates to them too."

"Are they the ones that debuted recently? Good luck to them! Neona and Rifana heard their songs and immediately became fans. Like no joke, they keep on going, 'WA DA DA DA!' every fifteen minutes or something, hahaha… Wait, I need to go now though, my C.O. Ja is calling me for dinner time with the rest of the unit."

"Ohh alright, let's call again tomorrow?"

"Sure thing lil sis! Enjoy and stay safe! Good night!"

"You too! Good night!"

The two sisters ended their call there, and Eleanor walked back into the auditorium. However, as she sat down beside her friends, her phone began to vibrate and ring. She checked it and saw that Sarada Uchiha was calling her and her teammates in their group chat.

Eleanor was the first to answer the call. "Good evening, Sarada. What's up? How was the commemoration-"

"Wait, I forgot to turn on my camera… You guys have to see this…"

As Kirakira, Magilou, Mitsuki, and Velvet either joined the call or glanced at Eleanor's smartphone, Sarada appeared onscreen. She quickly panned it around and stopped to focus on a familiar girl in lavender clad. The girl looked confused, but at the urging of the many people around her in what looked to be a train carriage, waved at the people she saw on the call.

A stupefied Mitsuki could not believe his eyes. "S-S-Sumire?"

Eleanor was utterly stunned, her eyes too opened to close, her mouth too shocked to utter words. Meanwhile, Velvet excitedly showed her phone to Lady Risha, who covered her gaping mouth to mask her shock and surprise.

On the other hand, Magilou couldn't help but say, "No fucking way."

"...Yeah," Sarada replied on the other side of the video call. "It's her."

"Tell us," Kirakira demanded answers, "everything."

How did you like the chapter? Give it a review or a like/kudos and let me know what you thought about it!

Some important things that happened:

1) Sumire with no memory... I wonder where her memory went... =O

2) Legretta starting to zero in on someone... But is it the right someone? =(

3) Sōkaiya and uyoku dantai are real-life Japanese issues. You guys can read up about them online if you're interested.

Hehehe, the storylines are starting to come together, specifically with the new characters introduced in Chapter 1... They'll be very important around Chapters 11-15... ;)

Also, the WA DA DA reference just shows how much Kep1er has taken over my life (and it probably won't be the last) HAHAHA HUHUHU *sobs*

PS: Bahiyyih, you deserve all the love in the world! Don't let the haters bring you down, and know that we, your fans, will *always* support you no matter what! Much love! ^_^