Scarlet Justice - ep. 40
"Rebel Heart"
[Chuunin Exams: Third Round Finals 4]

Some extra time to walk around as I please. Alright.

I leave the arena and head towards the closest women's bathroom on the ground floor. There's a cone and a maintenance sign on the door already, which is perfect. I set the cone in front of the entrance and flip the maintenance sign over, then check inside for anyone. Just one person...good. Temari is in front of the row of sinks, with the usual continuous mirror. She has a pencil in her hand, so she must be touching up her eyeliner.

"So you decided to come, then," she says without turning.

"Yes. I want to say something."

"Don't. I know it's something weird."

"You're right. Yes, it is something weird. You have sexy legs."

A sigh. "I'm straight, you know."

"Okay. So, can I touch them?"

"No."

"Hm."

"We don't have a whole lot of time, so you should stop trying to flirt. For now, at least," she mumbles. "I mentioned a change of heart...this is something impossibly selfish on my end, so you should listen up. Gaara was supposed to be our main weapon today."

I cross my arms. "Main weapon. You Sand children meant to invade us. I knew something was going on, but this is a bit too much. So why would you spill this information so suddenly? Surely the cause meant something to you, especially as the Kazekage's daughter."

"I...I didn't think much of this stupid plan from the start," Temari says as she stares at her reflection. "The main force was supposed to be the four of us...myself, Baki-sensei, Kankuro, and Gaara. Gaara as I said would be the biggest threat from inside, transforming into his tailed beast form at the promised time. The rest of us would slaughter Leaf forces along with the Sound...and their traitors inserted into Leaf ranks..."

"..." Well this was already going nowhere good, but the extent of this sort of madness...

"But...you wiped out Gaara so easily. You devoured him...just like a snake. And he was so vulnerable, lying there...saying those words. I..." She shakes her head. "Kankuro isn't much use right now, since the plan was to have him get into the final round with Gaara and I so he could have his weapon on him. He also had some gear inside of his puppet that he wanted to save for later...not that it would have been too useful against your bug buddy in that prelims fight. With him gone, it was down to us three...but now that Gaara's down too, things will have to change. Baki-sensei and I are still waiting for the signal. Obviously it's not happening until I get back to where I'm supposed to be and make proper contact." She makes a face. "We might really have to retreat at this rate after finding a way to pull those guys out of their situations, but Gaara is so injured that he really can't move after what you did."

And once again, my love of sadism saves the day. Sort of. I really am curious how it came to this, though. "Temari...aside from the orders given by your father, do you know exactly why this is happening?"

She decides she's finished touching herself up, and turns to face me before leaning back against the counter.

"It's because of the Wind Daimyo. The Leaf and Sand have an alliance going, which is what helped us push Gaara into the exams in the first place. We do trade back and forth, too. But the daimyo has been too trusting and reliant on Leaf. The differences in pricing and quality keep increasing...a lot of the missions that should have gone to us..."

"...ended up going to us," I finish. "I think I see. There's a grudge over Sand losing a lot of its funding and prestige. We actually had a delivery to your country...hm. That was our first ever mission as a team. Dealt with some bandits..."

"Bandits, huh." Temari looks at me before having a moment of realization. "Hey...wait a minute. Don't tell me...you're 'her', aren't you?"

"Her?"

"There are rumours spreading all the time...some criminal that we hauled in from a desert mission lost his mind after having to recollect what he saw before he was captured. He was part of a 40 man bandit force, meant to steal the contents of one wagon with a bunch of rare metals in it. Some corporate job to obtain trade secrets from an upstart business. But...he was the only one left alive after everyone else was wiped out. He said the one who did it...all of it...was a girl with red hair." She gulps. "I know...that it was you."

I sigh. "Yes. It was that mission. I slaughtered them all."

"That mission is called '39 Down' by a bunch of shinobi, but most of the population calls it the 'Desert Storm'. Now it makes sense how you did all that to Gaara. You've...always been a monster. Shit..." She rubs at her head. "But now you know what's going on, I guess. This is retaliation for what's happened, and we've joined forces with the Hidden Sound in order to crush the Leaf. With the Leaf in ruins, we should be able to reclaim what was once lost, or so my father says. If we wait too long, then...the Sand would completely lose the ability to fight the Leaf. And maybe more weapons like Gaara will be created as a result."

"So...does the Sand's fate not matter to you? You realize what you're risking by telling me all of this, and betraying your village."

"I just...don't want it to end like this. And I know that we probably won't be shown any mercy by the Leaf. Not even Gaara. All of those things have crossed my mind." She lets out a breath and looks at me. "I want you to help stop this, because I know you can. I want you to turn this invasion upside down, like you flipped Gaara's life around in a single battle. Maybe the Leaf is a threat to us, to our existence. But so many people will die because of this...pointless war. And I don't want to see my brother used as a weapon anymore. I don't...want to see him used as a tool. He's better than that, he always has been, but especially now that he wants to change...he deserves another chance."

"Mm." I brush back some of my hair. "So you've turned to this Scarlet Viper...the villain with her bloody fangs."

"Well...when it comes to reliability, shouldn't I seek out the strong?"

"Perhaps so." There are a lot of things blending together, but the main thrust is that there is an invasion about to happen. All of those Sound shinobi...the Hidden Sound. That sort of minor village. How did they pull off such a deal? They haven't been active for very long, from what I know. I look at Temari and start thinking about what I can possibly do.

Some would call it unwise. But one hand extended in faith deserves another. That is how I feel right now.

"This should be kept in confidence," I say to her.

"Oh. Yeah, alright. What is it?"

"That man from the Sannin is present. Orochimaru."

"Wait, what? Here? Why?" Temari asks, her eyes widening. "You don't think he's here to cause trouble for the Leaf as well, do you?"

"He has to be pulling strings somehow. I fully expect him to interfere, since he's expressed an interest in Sasuke."

"Uchiha? He's not even here yet...but I mean, what else could he be around for? I know he's a dangerous missing-nin, but do you really think he'd get involved?"

"Who knows. Sasuke is important to him, as the last of the available Uchiha. I suspect that Itachi was too much for him to handle."

"This is so confusing."

"He might be the one," I say. "Meddling in this whole thing. It's possible he's an agent of the Sound, or affiliated with them. All of those traps and decoys..."

"That just makes it a lot worse if it's true. Dammit." Temari lets out a sharp breath. "But I'm not letting that become an excuse. I'll have to-"

"We can designate others to guard your little brother. You'll probably be needed out front. After all," I say with a smug look, "you did save your strength for an invasion."

She frowns and turns her head away. "Tch. Way to twist it in, you bitch."

"It's what I do."

"There's a hell of a lot to take in. This whole war about to explode on us, and one of the Three on top of all that...I don't know what to think anymore. But you know...hearing me out like this, even if it's going to suck later...well, I owe you a lot. Thanks...for all of this. Besides what you did for Gaara, I mean."

"You listened to your heart. That's the most important thing...and we can save lives this way."

"Yeah," she says with a nod. "The signal starts with Kabuto, the guy who's working as a double agent for the Sound. He's supposed to be using a genjutsu or something to take out as many people as possible at once. After that, the Kazekage and his guard will move. Then the three of us as I mentioned earlier." She pauses in thought. "Now that...it's come up. I don't know what my father is thinking sitting up there. Maybe he's up there in age, but that's still the God of Shinobi we're talking about. I think it'll take more than three people to stall him."

"It would, yes." That really does sound a bit dodgy. "Kabuto is likely to be disguised as ANBU. A real method actor, it seems. I should have figured he was up to something...bowing out of the preliminaries in the manner he did was suspicious from the start." But then...there was a quick response to that, wasn't there? From what Tsume told me, Erika is strong and someone loyal to the Leaf. It's likely that she's one of the many countermeasures in place for Orochimaru's advance, and that she saw through Kabuto as soon as he made his move.

"So annoying." Temari sighs, frustrated. "But our time's up, I think. It's been a while since we made our way in here...so we need to get back before we miss the next fight, and make certain people anxious. Now that the original plan's fucked to high hell, the signal might go up pretty soon."

"I see. And during such an important fight, too," I say.

"Oh, yeah. Your teammates are going at it next." Temari eases herself up from the counter. "That looked like a fun one...bug boy versus noble girl. And then the slacker gets to escape again...Uchiha's fight is gonna be a wash too. People were really looking forward to seeing him mix it up, though I assume with the other Hyuuga as opposed to Uzumaki. Lots of nobles paid top dollar for seats. They're gonna be pissed once the kunai start flying," she says with a light laugh.

"Well, you can pay me back for my disappointment, at the least."

"Hm?"

"Just let me touch them," I instruct with my serious face.

"No."

"Mm."

"..." She moves towards me, then leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. "Live with that much. I'll pay you back properly one day soon for what you've done...but nothing sick like you're probably thinking. Like I told you, I'm straight. See you around."

I can see her blushing as she leaves the bathroom ahead of me. A couple of whiny women stream in afterwards, some of them crowding around the sink and bickering.

"Down payment, then. Hm. Shame about her liking boys, though," I say with a smile.

It seems that I have a lot of work to do. This information won't be wasted...that is my promise to Temari. I head back upstairs to the waiting area, thinking on this vital information. What should I do first, exactly? Aside from sounding the alarm...but that might be a bit too soon. Nothing is happening just yet, and if I have the right gauge of Temari, she's wasting time on her end as well.

"Lili!" Hina bounds over and smothers me in a hug.

"It's good to be back," I say.

"Welcome back, Boss. That was an overwhelming power you showed off just now."

I smile and pet Hina's head as she snuggles into me. "All in a day's work. So...now that you've seen the results of my training, are you afraid?"

"Just a little...but I promised that I would reach you," Hina says.

"I feel the same. We're going to do our best to reach your level," Shino replies.

"Hmhm. That's good of you both...ah. Speaking of the tourney, why aren't you both down yet? You're the next match."

"The Kazekage seems to have left his seat for a moment," Lee says. "It seems that something has happened, and it was quite close to the official end of the intermission, too."

"Interesting." I look around. "Hasn't Sasuke arrived yet?"

"Nah, he hasn't! What's that dumbass doing?" Naruto yells. "He's gonna be disqualified at this rate! Oh...t-then again...if he saw what Lili did just now, he'd probably piss himself and quit anyways! Nyahahaha!"

"..." Lee gives me a wary look, and I return it. I'm not too fond of these 'heroic justice' types as it is. And that awful spandex doesn't help.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself a bit too much," Shikamaru says from his spot on the floor. "Fighting someone like you...yeah, definitely a major pain in the ass. Like, what was that whole thing when you got him the first time? I mean...it was super impressive how you picked him apart, but the blood licking and everything...damn."

"Oh...that. You know, you're right in that I did overdo it. Fantasizing a bit too much on my end, getting carried away. Must have been the atmosphere and that murderous intent being bandied about."

"Eh..."

I smile as I think back to it. "It happened that...I went over the edge."

Shikamaru blinks. "Wait. You don't mean..."

"Mm..." I feel myself blushing. "Yeah. Something...like that."

"Lili...y-you...?" Hina stammers. She's blushing brighter than I am, somehow.

"What, what?" Naruto asks. "What are you guys talking about?"

"I wonder myself," Lee says with a confused expression. Shikamaru covers his face with his hands, while Shino adjusts his glasses and tries to hide being flustered.

"You're way too much. Even for a girl, you know," Shikamaru groans.

"It might be so," I say quietly. From my observation, the Hokage is still alone in the press box...meaning the Kazekage isn't back just yet. This might be a good time to test my theories and set events in motion.

Matters of life and death...and Temari's wish.

I stifle my embarrassment and organize my thoughts. Right. No time to waste after this.

"Shino."

"Yes."

"Walk your way down to the ground floor when the hour for your fight arrives. Take as much time as possible when they call for you and Hina, and then tell Hayate-senpai to observe the area where the Hokage is if you run out of time after that."

"Understood."

"Hina, I need you by my side."

"Yes," she says without hesitation.

"Shikamaru, I will explain everything as we move. Please follow me...this is a matter of life and death," I say to him seriously.

He jumps up from his sitting position and cracks his neck. "Got it. Lead on."

"Thank you. We'll start to move."

"Eh? Lili, what's going on?"

"Naruto, listen to me carefully. You're going to be getting orders. When Sasuke arrives, say nothing until the time I give you."

"Lili-"

"Please. Promise me, Naruto. Only you can do this for me."

"I-I got it!"

I whisper instructions into his ear, ones that will hopefully keep Sasuke safe and away from Orochimaru if he does make it here. That man can't be allowed to win...

"That's it, huh."

"Yes." I give him a warm smile. "Thank you, Naruto. This is for the safety of the Leaf."

"Ossu! Leave it to me, Lili!" he says with a salute. "I'll take care of Lee for you, too! Good luck!"

I nod and my expression returns to neutral as I head off, my team in two. I explain the situation in detail to Shikamaru and Hinata as we walk towards the seating area with the Kage and the lords.

"And you know this information is accurate?" Shikamaru asks. "She could be lying for all we know. This could be a big trap."

"The information is corroborated by various other sources that I've come across. Anko-nee was that man's apprentice up until a certain time. Lord Hokage also knows that he's here somewhere, plotting something. Since Sasuke has yet to arrive...we just need to confirm their actions and completely destroy the timing of this new threat. Hopefully that ruins Orochimaru's ambitions as well."

"Shit...this is a mess. If it's really one of the Three...we could die instantly..."

"Yes. We could. But if we sit here and let it happen, there's no telling where it could lead. And we would be far from safe, no matter how we try to run. More than that, I trust Temari. The tears she shed for Gaara, her little brother...they were real."

Shikamaru grumbles. "I swear I'll haunt you forever if this blows up. You too, Hinata."

"Uu...something like that..."

"Don't worry, Hina. We won't die here, and this slacker would rather watch clouds than haunt pretty girls like us. Now...we're going to test my theory." We come to a stop near one of the alternate exits from the seats, stopping on the stairs. "Hina."

"Yes." She activates her Byakugan. "The Kazekage is...ah, heading downstairs somewhere. He has two guards with him." As expected. "But they're...I don't understand."

"What is it?" I ask.

Hina frowns. "Each of them has two chakras. Two different chakras in each body, I mean. And the Kazekage...something is wrong. He's...obscured. Is it some kind of technique?"

"Hrm. We can't confirm anything like that. Time to go a bit further...we don't have time or space to call for extra help, and there aren't enough ANBU that we can pull one off their line. I'm borrowing Temari's form. Shikamaru, can you make use of the information I gave you?"

"Yeah, easy enough."

"Okay. We'll follow them until we know exactly where they're going. Hina, keep your range up so we can observe any changes. Shino hasn't moved, which means they're probably waiting for the Kazekage to return before they start. That's good for us, but we don't want to waste any time that we can get."

We follow the Kazekage's group stealthily as they descend, keeping our distance and remaining inconspicuous to anyone we might pass by. It feels a bit tense now...a dangerous mission in the middle of the exams. The definition of a thriller, to be sure. Where exactly are these three going?

"Lili...this area leads to the medical ward," Hina says quietly.

"So he's going to check up on Gaara," Shikamaru says. "Makes sense...that's his kid, even if he was a psycho jinchuuriki just a while ago."

"Yes. And we simply have to observe...I'll make the first move when we need to." We continue following for a set distance until the Kazekage enters a room, and at that point we decide to pause in the nearest stairwell. Time to change.

I focus and transform, adopting Temari's appearance right down to her lovely, sexy legs.

"Damn, it's a spitting image," Shikamaru says. His eyes narrow soon after. "But I get the feeling that you're enjoying this part of the job too much," he mutters.

I frown at him and bounce my newly upgraded breasts a bit. "There's nothing wrong with that, my dear."

He stares at me before looking to Hina. "You really deal with this every day?"

Hina smiles back. "Never a dull moment."

"Man...can't believe I'm saying it, but I'm glad I drew Ino, then."

"We can chat about how much of a pervert I am later. I'm heading in...watch my back."

"Five people in the room total. Two medical staff, two guards, and the Kazekage. Nobody approaching yet from any direction," Hina reports. "All green."

I nod and make my way around the corner, towards the room. Steadying my nerves, I quickly and easily slip through the entrance without a sound, then purposely take a heavy step to alert everyone to my presence.

"Lord Kazekage," I say pensively.

"Temari...what brings you here?" he asks without turning. The two 'medics' are also Sand shinobi, and they're working on keeping the room secure.

"I was worried about the state of the plan now that Gaara is...well, shall I make adjustments?" I ask.

"Things will proceed as normal. During the match with Aburame and Hyuuga, Kabuto will start the show."

"And you don't want me to step in before then? My lord, our battle power is a joke now that-"

"Patience, Temari."

He's falling for it. Good...I even got her impulsive streak down.

"Tch...my apologies, Lord Kazekage. It's just that...we can't have things go to pieces now. There's been too much that we went through with this plan to get to this point."

"Of course, that's well noted. You were reluctant at first, and the stakes are certainly high." I step forward as the Kazekage speaks, looking at Gaara as he lies in the hospital bed. There are tubes going in and out of him while he wears a breathing mask. "What an interesting child...this Gaara. Always causing nothing but trouble wherever he goes. These jinchuuriki are quite fascinating to watch, him and the Nine-Tails brat. It's too bad they couldn't fight...but that little firebrand put on an impressive show. Lilith Kobayashi, wasn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hm. I wonder what having that kind of power on our side would be like...a girl who enjoys carnage like that would certainly be a boon. There would be no end to the missions she could take on to satisfy herself. But alas...the Third Hokage must have some way of keeping her tethered to mortality, something effective at that."

"..." If only it were that simple. There are a lot of things that keep me grounded. Like the 'brat' he chooses to speak of so dismissively. "Seeing Gaara again...like this. It's..."

"That's right. Even with all of the calamity you've gone through because of him, that's still your brother. Conflicting feelings, Temari?"

"Maybe," I mutter. "It's a lot to take in, my lord."

"There's nothing to worry about from here on. Gaara will be taken care of, and we will complete this mission that we've risked so much for already. Return upstairs, little one. Kabuto should be ready soon."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage." I turn on my heel and start to leave before pausing. "My lord, Kankuro..."

"Baki will be taking care of both your brothers when the time arrives. And Kankuro will be of use, as he has desired. As I said before...there is no need to worry about anything."

"Understood, my lord. Please forgive my impatience." I bow to his back and head out, taking the long way around and back to my initial location. As soon as I reach the stairwell, I drop my transformation and wait for Hina and Shikamaru to emerge again.

"So...what'd you pick up?" he asks.

"Not too much...some things that sound strange, but since I'm not familiar with the Sand, I can't say anything for sure." I go over the short conversation I had, along with my observations.

"Dunno what to make it of it myself," Shikamaru says as I finish. "Pretty brutal towards Gaara, though. Makes sense why he'd be so hostile if his own father saw him as a tool."

"..." Things like this always hit a little too close to home. I shove it down anyways. "We won't know anything for sure until we ask the source. He might be in there just a while longer, so let's go upstairs now."

We walk at a brisk pace back the way we came, with Hina looking out for any danger. As we ascend the first stairway we came down, Temari is coming in the opposite direction.

"Oh, it's you guys. What are you doing?" she asks. "Huddled up and all that. Oi...wait, did you-"

"Yes, I explained it to them," I say.

"Idiot." She rolls her eyes at me. "Why didn't you just-"

"Hey, shut up for a moment." She clicks her teeth and I continue. "There's something I need to confirm. I went downstairs to the medical bay with these two just now. What I did was take your appearance and enter the room with the Kazekage...we both were with Gaara and the-"

"Eh...what?" The colour drains from Temari's face. "Father...he's with Gaara...?"

"Temari?"

"Out of my way...get the fuck out of my way!" she roars.

"Shikamaru," I call.

"Yeah. Tch...she's got a pull on her," he mutters.

"What...damn you, you shitty fucking slacker! Drop your fucking jutsu before I kill you!"

"No can do. Kobayashi's orders." Shikamaru has threaded his shadow through mine, using it to bind Temari as she stands in front of me.

"Hey, Red! What the fuck?" she cries out. She's upset and not calming down.

"Temari, please...quiet down a moment. Tell me why you're panicking," I say to her.

"Isn't it obvious?!"

"It's not, you silly bitch. Speak up, because I'm not letting you go."

"You mean I'm not-"

"Shikamaru, hush," Hina instructs.

"God...you women are so..."

"Gaara...for the last six years, after my father deemed Gaara a failure of a shinobi...he tried to assassinate him. Six times. He only stopped when it looked like Gaara was in control of himself..."

It's no wonder he developed that sort of mentality. Your own father...deciding that you were worthless enough to be terminated? I couldn't imagine something like that...even as distant as I am from my own father.

"If my father is down there, do you think he would miss an opportunity to kill Gaara off for good?! After he got beaten so badly by you? After he failed the village again?! That's why...that's why...!" she screams, tears in her eyes.

"There's no further action. The Kazekage and his guards are coming back," Hina says calmly.

"The Kazekage was doing no such thing," I say to Temari. "He never mentioned it. More than that, he mused on a clash between Gaara and the Nine Tails child."

"Nine Tails? Who is? And...looked forward to...?"

"He called Gaara an interesting kid who causes trouble wherever he goes."

"What...that's...that's not possible," Temari says, slowly calming down. "That's impossible, why would..."

From her reaction, it's all wrong.

"So that's it, then," I say.

"There's no way in hell...that man is my father," Temari growls.

Orochimaru...that guy is crafty.

Anko's words ring in my head. With all of the evidence so far, and that strange feeling...the Kazekage's chakra being blocked from Hina's sight, and the vague plans...the desire to hunt for Sasuke...

This is getting out of hand.

"So what do we do?" Shikamaru asks as he releases his technique. Temari stumbles and leans against a wall for support.

"We need to make the first move, head-on. Now that we know a fake is pulling strings, we have to act quickly. Let's head up now and wait for him to arrive, then figure things out from there," I say.

"We can't just call ANBU, either...with that Kabuto guy running around, we need all hands on deck. Like you said earlier, pulling one of them off their lines unexpectedly might cause chaos."

"Now that we've confirmed these things, what would our next step be?" Hina asks.

"That's the whole issue, isn't it..." I can make sure Temari is safe, but she's a tough girl. And I want her free to move. We can play it cool and get back to where we were earlier, preparing for the incoming madness...but that's too passive. We might be just genin, but we're not useless kids. I close my eyes and think through scenarios.

Exposing the fake Kazekage is an option, but his battle power is unknown, and he has those two guards...a three on three isn't ideal with Shikamaru and Hina. Going alone might work with my mobility, but that's uncertain too.

Kabuto...hard to find when he's disguised. He might even be in league with Orochimaru, if he's the one behind all this. Going to Kurenai would help, since she's with Asuma, another Leaf elite. A lot of options. Maybe too many at once. I have to think and keep things together.

"This war...this entire war...it's..." Temari shudders and makes her way back up, a distant look in her eyes. She really might do something I'm unprepared for at this rate.

Kabuto...Hiruzen...Kurenai...Orochimaru...Shikamaru...Temari...Hina.

My eyes open.

"We're going to stop these bastards in their tracks," I say firmly to my comrades. "And I have just the way to do it."