Scarlet Justice - ep. 141
"Bullet Points"
[Cordially Yours, Part 4]
"Not as fun as I hoped...but close enough. I needed that after earlier..."
I suck the last bit of blood from my finger and sigh with satisfaction. The now useless corpse is lying on its back, in the middle of this section of forest. Nobody should be coming around for a while, which is to my advantage.
"I won't be carrying you home, now will I? Hmm...let's see about that seal of yours." I crouch down to lift away the broken mask, and open the corpse's mouth. All the way in the back...yes, there it is. Still intact. Three solid black lines, followed by two broken ones, all along the back part of the tongue. "Danzo's way of marking his little animals. It has to be triggered by something, but what, exactly? I didn't get to find out on that last mission with traitors, either..."
It seems that they're connected with Danzo's existence, so erasing him might remove the seals from other members. Or...it might be like Orochimaru's cursed seal, which persisted after his death. Seeing as they worked together in the past as part of the original ROOT, I wouldn't be shocked.
"And I shouldn't compromise anyone by bringing the body back anyways. Even if they suspect me, they can't do a thing about it from here," I say to myself, standing up. "Time for you to disappear, then. You should be thankful that you got to serve a final purpose as my snack."
I hum to myself and start digging a pit big enough for the body to burn in. Between the incoming smoke and the blood that's already on my clothing, I really will need a wash once I get home.
It's mid-afternoon.
With everything settled, I head to the Hokage's Office as soon as I make it back to the Leaf. Tamaki and Imari are patiently waiting for me in the front lobby. Both are in their usual matching work attire, and today's is green blouses with dark blue skirts and stockings. The former has her face set like steel, and the latter has dirty and torn clothing, clearly from a recent fight.
"We've secured everything for the next few hours, longer if necessary," Tamaki says with a cool tone. "If we don't get the cooperation we want right away...we've prepared for that situation. Thanks to Imari's efforts, Sai is also here with us. We've also called Lady Tsunade in. As far as anyone else is concerned, this is just a high-level meeting."
"I see. Very good," I say.
"We have a change of clothing ready for you, though it's nothing glamorous," Imari says.
"The very least of my worries, love. Thank you for accommodating me...I'll be quick."
They both nod as I head down the hall and into the first room on the left. There's a set of plain clothing, a shirt and sweatpants. And of course everything I need for a quick wash, next to the large metal tub that was brought in. The water is good and warm.
I clean every part of me, including my hair, and then dry off with the provided towels. My previous set of clothing goes into a black plastic bag after I remove everything from the pockets, and I slip my armband back over my arm. Sandals on, hair is fine...okay. Good and ready to go again. I think I'm cleaned and refreshed enough for now.
As I leave, I lock the door and make sure that my things are all there, one more time. The folded paper with the important hair samples has not been disturbed.
"Everything okay, Lili?" Imari asks as I return.
"Perfectly fine. Everything should be secure."
"Will you follow us, please?" Tamaki asks.
"Yes. Please lead the way, senpai."
She nods and we continue down the hall, into the Hokage's main office. The doors are opened and I step inside. Imari closes them behind us, then makes a set of seals and presses her hand against the wood. A faint pulse ripples from the middle of the doors and across the walls and windows of the room, then fades off.
Portions of food and drink sit on a table near the middle of the room. There are several chairs, enough for everyone to rest in. For now, almost everyone is on their feet, standing and just a bit tense in their own ways. The old man is seated behind his desk, smoking from his pipe as usual. Sai is quiet and bound with rope while he sits. Seems he chose to underestimate Imari and paid for it. Good. The little rodent is fortunate to get away with only that much.
"Now that all of the relevant parties are here, we can begin," Tamaki says crisply. "I think it is only right that Lili decide what we speak about first."
I look over the rest of the room's current occupiers. Sasuke, seemingly recovered from his forced nap earlier. Sakura, who has her hands folded in front of her stomach and head down. Erika, who really should be sitting herself because of her exhaustion. Kakashi, rubbing the back of his head and looking suitably wearied. Fio, who is just a bit unnerved because of the room's atmosphere, but is politely waiting to see what happens. And Tsunade, who has her arms folded as she waits to see why she was pulled out of her office all of a sudden.
Well. Let's get to it, then.
"We will start with the reason for this mess in the first place," I say. "Sasuke taking off from his designated mission and heading into unauthorized areas. Even if he was goaded by other elements, it could have gotten him killed."
"It would almost be a shame," Tamaki says. She really is in the worst mood, but I can't blame her one bit.
"What happened?" I ask, turning to Sasuke. I'll try to be delicate with him here. "It had to be something of great importance, surely...but what drove you into following that lead, and so suddenly at that? You know that many people are invested in your safety, Sasuke."
"You know what happened," he retorts. "Listen, I don't have to explain-"
There's a violent chill and Tamaki strides past me. Without a wasted movement, she steps into a punch and slams her fist into Sasuke's jaw. He falls over, to gasps from Sakura and Fio. Tamaki's expression has not changed, but I can feel it. She is much, much angrier than before.
"You..." Sasuke scrambles to his feet. "You bitch-!"
She winds up and hits him again. And again. And again, sending him into the nearby wall. Her hands go around his collar, and I can tell that those green eyes of hers are drilling holes into him as she holds him against the wall.
"Who do you think you are?! If I-"
"You will do no such thing, Sasuke." Imari's voice is even. "These eyes can see everything. If I see even a hint of chakra going towards an attack, we will make you wish that Akatsuki had their hands around your throat instead of us."
"What is wrong with you?! Old man! Why aren't you stopping them?" he yells at Hiruzen.
"I have my reasons, much like you had yours when you chose to go on your adventure earlier today," he replies casually, puffing away on his pipe. "If you do as the ladies say, you will be released in a timely manner. That is all."
"As many times...as it takes," Tamaki says. "I will make you understand, Sasuke Uchiha. As many times as it takes. You listen to me, and listen well. Show that woman the respect she deserves. Answer what Lili has asked of you. Is that clear?"
"You-"
She slams him into the wall, hard enough to make the room vibrate. That's not normal strength she's playing with, and Sasuke realizes it now. His eyes widen in fear despite himself.
"I asked you if that was clear. Yes or no, Sasuke."
"...yes."
Tamaki releases him and walks back to Imari's side. Sasuke glares at her, but it seems like he's had enough and is willing to cooperate properly now. He looks at me and starts talking.
"It was that guy's fault," he says, pointing to Sai. "Just came up to me one day and started acting weird. Asking stupid questions. It was annoying and he was starting to piss me off, but then...he started mentioning stuff about Akatsuki...and Itachi. Said that there was a sure way to find his whereabouts, through secret channels that even the Hokage didn't know about. Wanted me to see his boss, but never said who it was. I said I'd think about it if he made good on his promise."
"I see."
"Why the hell do you want-"
"Be quiet. That is none of your concern right now," Tamaki says. "Continue your story."
Sasuke gives her another glare, but flinches as she forms a fist at her side. His hand clutches at his jaw, and he rubs it ruefully before continuing. "He was just a creepy asshole in general, but he agreed to do that favour for me. Said that he knew people in the ANBU and would get me hooked up. So I agreed."
"You didn't tell Sakura," I say.
"No." He pauses a moment. "I saw the shark man...just like in the Bingo Book. Then you guys showed up. I didn't ask Sakura to follow me and thought she would take off, but she didn't. It was too late by then..." He shakes his head. "But you don't get it. I'm justified. I'm within my rights to chase down Itachi, and that means any leads to him, too. He's my responsibility."
"So he is." I turn my head towards Tamaki. "Senpai...does that satisfy you?"
"Barely. At least we have the facts now, from the boy's own mouth."
"Then it's enough for me as well." I walk over to the old man's desk and lean back on it, looking over the room. "Let's get further into it. The man with pale blue skin that we encountered in town was indeed a member of the Akatsuki organization. An S-Rank criminal listed in the Bingo Book, formerly an elite of the Village Hidden in Mist. The man known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist, Kisame Hoshigaki. One of the famed Seven Swordsmen, who wields the great-sword Samehada."
"Seven Swordsmen...that means he was like Zabuza, then?" Sakura asks.
"Yes. Zabuza Momochi, if I'm not mistaken. That man's aim was a coup of the Mist, and he meant to gather funds and raise an army for that purpose. Thanks to the efforts of you and your cohorts in Team Seven, his ambitions came to an end. There was another member of Akatsuki in town, which I also met. He gave us no name, and no means of identification," I say with a look towards Erika. "Nobody like him is in the Bingo Book, and his description doesn't match anything that we've seen before. It's very curious. He also seems to have access to a space-time art."
"Space-time?" Hiruzen asks. "Exceedingly rare and powerful, especially to encounter it out in the world like that. Little wonder he's employed by a mercenary group."
"It allows him to phase in and out of the physical plane, through objects, and living beings. There is also what I suspect is a vacuum ability of sorts...but there is a known limit. He cannot attack and use that phasing simultaneously. In order to land blows, he must become tangible."
"What an interesting ability," Imari comments. "So because of that, I would assume that you couldn't defeat or subdue him."
"Unfortunately. I apologize for my inadequacy on that front...using the data that I have collected, I will strive to correct this the next time that we meet."
"There's no need to be so hard on yourself," Tsunade says to me.
"Yes, that's right. Few could catch our own masters of space-time arts, such as the Second and Fourth Hokage," Hiruzen adds.
"Probably. I guess that's Shino rubbing off on me again...I didn't mean to sound too self-depreciating. Thank you both," I say with a smile.
The basics are out of the way and dealt with. Matters of reprimand will come at a later time, once things are secured here. We can't keep everyone in the loop, nor should we.
"Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura will need an escort home," I say. "Tsunade, would you take care of our guest here?"
"Got it." She taps Sai on the neck, and he promptly loses consciousness. Imari produces wire and secures him to the chair itself this time.
"I'm sure that I won't be able to keep up too well with all the stuff going on here," Fio says, apologetically. "Is it okay if I head out for now?"
"Of course, my love. I'll filter down the relevant information for you and Kakashi later. There's no pressure."
"Thanks, Lili. I'll be waiting at home." She gives me a kiss on the cheek and smiles before leaving. Sasuke starts to protest, but Tamaki clenches her fist again and makes him reconsider. Sakura puts her hands on his shoulders and quietly escorts him out. Kakashi gives us a wearied sort of salute before following them.
As the door closes again, Imari seals the room, taking a few more precautions before returning. The remainder of us finally take our seats around the table, and we pour hot drinks for each other. I bring Hiruzen a cup of tea and sit on top of his desk with my own.
Tsunade has found herself some rum from one of the room's cabinets, and pours a glass after sitting. "Alright, should we get started again?"
"Yes. Tamaki, how are you feeling at the moment?" I ask her.
"Slightly better. I know that I looked really ugly earlier. Sorry about that."
"You have nothing to apologize for, my dear. And you had every right to be upset. Sasuke is a brat that has gone far too long without a proper spanking. Hopefully after this, he'll start learning his place." I sigh. "So. The first thing we will start with is...my conversation with Itachi earlier today. I will relay the relevant parts, and beyond."
I hop off the desk and start to go over most of what we spoke about, leaving out anything I felt was too personal between us. The movements of ROOT, those of Akatsuki, so on and so forth. I watch Hiruzen's expression change slightly from time to time. It seems there were more than a few things that he wasn't aware of regarding Danzo. But on the other end, he did allow that man to move as he liked for a time, feeling that it would be best for the village. Even in this age, he couldn't bring himself to do more than expel Danzo from his inner circle.
That fossil needs to be made obsolete. For everyone's sanity, but the old man's especially.
"So we've got that much time to get Naruto ready before they start," Tsunade says. "And from what I'm hearing, this Akatsuki outfit ain't exactly amateur hour. Problem is that we only have Itachi's testimony to go on, and we can't very well use an S-Rank criminal as a means to expose the fuckers for corruption and planning coups. Even if the little guy is still loyal to us. Not only would it make us look like stupid assholes, but the village would suffer financially. Definitely a mess." She takes a swig of rum.
"Could we just...leak the information to other villages?" Imari asks. "Covering our bases, so to speak?"
"If only it were that simple," Erika says. "There are places that extensively use Akatsuki's services. Not just individuals, but shinobi villages. One of the few villages that has never done so aside from us, to anyone's knowledge at least, is the Hidden Cloud."
"Yes, and we've been running into trouble with them lately," Tamaki says. "I should have known that things were too rocky for one season. Danzo has his hand in the pot, there's no question now."
"Orochimaru's influence..." Hiruzen sighs and puts a hand to his head. That old guilt is coming in again.
"So we need to keep Sasuke locked down again, before he pulls more stunts like this," Imari says. "That's easily done. Obviously he won't like it, but it's not like it matters at this point. We don't have to rush his meeting with Itachi at all. Well, down to brass tacks, as the saying goes. Lili, what else do you have for us?"
"A bit of insight, and drama to pair with it," I say as I sit properly in an open chair. "Do listen carefully, my darlings. That masked man's reactions and timing today...I made a guess in line with one of the secrets that Itachi gifted to me."
"What would that be?" Hiruzen asks, curious.
"That Madara Uchiha is alive. And that he might be the true mastermind behind Akatsuki."
Tsunade coughs loudly and puts down her drink. "Ex...excuse me? What the fuck?"
"It is a difficult thing to swallow, yes," I say flatly.
"Lili, that's...the same guy who fought my grandfather. You know that, right? Madara died at the Valley of the End, decades ago. How the hell could he be alive? Grandpa couldn't have been wrong, he killed the guy himself!"
"They do have the remains in a most secret location. One that not even I know," Hiruzen says. "Lord Tobirama died at an unexpected age, and with his inclination for research, it would have made sense to study Madara's body at some point to unlock the secrets of the Sharingan."
And Madara would need to be alive to use that jutsu, wouldn't he...otherwise, he could have tricked Hashirama and finished him off in their final battle. It's possible that there is some highly secretive jutsu he used to revive himself, or maybe transfer his consciousness somewhere else? But that couldn't be it either. Where would it go? How would he be around so long, and where would he be hiding?
"So Granduncle stored Madara's body somewhere...but we have no way of checking," Tsunade says.
"We have another method available," I say. "The masked man made the claim that he was Madara, and I attempted to check if this was truly the case. We've seen enough photos of that man in our lifetimes, and I could provide enough of a description to satisfy you all. I could not uncover his face...but I did get something else instead." I take the folded paper from my pocket, and pass it down so that it reaches Tsunade. "I hope that this is sufficient. Genetic material for you to test."
She opens up the paper and stares at it.
"This is plenty...you not only got the hair, you got the follicles with them. Amazing work, kiddo."
"Thank you."
"We should be able to check this against the data we have using a few methods. Chakra is like fingerprints, unique to every person. We can match it against what we have recorded...easy enough to start with Uchiha records, since he supposedly is one, but if it's anyone else we have on file, we can track them down too. If you pulse chakra through someone or something, it'll generate a specific response based on their DNA. That's a relatively simple test we can run whenever we want...just find similar wavelengths and we're good to go. Of course, if your signature is altered for whatever reason..."
"Therein lies the problem that I will detail next. When I reached out to sense his energies...I could feel that he had the Founder's chakra."
Tsunade frowns mightily at that. "You have gotta be fucking kidding me."
"Hardly. A prank that tasteless is beyond my sensibilities."
Tsunade stares down at the hair samples again. "So you're telling me that this guy has my grandfather's chakra in him, and that he's Madara Uchiha, and that he somehow survived, or brought himself back to life after getting killed?"
"That is quite difficult to believe...Madara Uchiha, alive? And the mastermind behind this organization?" Hiruzen asks. "Not to mention that he could evade you in his advanced age...how deeply does all of this run?"
"I don't remember any stories about Madara using warping mumbo-jumbo to slip through people," Tsunade says. "So that much is already suspect. Then again, it's possible that he modified his DNA to become stronger using Grandpa's chakra, or some bullshit."
"That eye, and possibly his whole body, may not be his at all in the first place."
"Eye..." Erika sips at her coffee. "The Sharingan?"
"The same, yes."
"Stolen Sharingan? Wait, Lili...eye? As in one?" Imari asks.
"I only saw the one. The other was beneath that strange mask of his. I suppose he felt he didn't need it against me," I say.
"Why would an Uchiha conceal his eye like that? Surely two is better than one," Tamaki points out. "It might be that this person isn't an Uchiha at all. The strain from two Sharingan shouldn't be even notable to an Uchiha, especially someone who is supposed to be the strongest one ever."
"Whatever the hell this is...we'll figure it out with a few tests," Tsunade says before knocking back her drink. "Shit. It's pretty fucked up what's going on...but this isn't an impossible case to solve. If they're using a Sharingan, then they have to have some sort of connection to the village. Their DNA doesn't lie. Sharingan are bloodline limits like everything else, which means they have a sequence that corresponds to a person."
"I see. I never could lack faith in you, but that much is reassuring," I say to her. "Madara...when I met him, his aura was heavy with malice. I believe that it truly is him, in some way. He could possibly be some sort of copy, or imposter...but I don't know. It feels too real to be something like that."
"What would we do if it is him? What could we do?" Tamaki asks. "I mean, we can't exactly tell anyone, can we? Even if someone did believe our outrageous story, it would just be something else to blame on the Leaf, something that would put us in an unholy amount of trouble."
"If this person is an imposter, we would need to solve another mystery," Erika says. "What would someone gain by using the name Madara so callously? The Akatsuki leader, whoever that person really is...they must know, and must have been swayed by such information."
"He is apparently called Pain, and has an assistant or similar that carries out his orders. Her name is Konan," I say.
"Pain...I see. An interesting moniker, to be sure. Investigations will need to be carried out in due time. The gap of time before Akatsuki enacts the next phase of their plan...it should be a blessing to us. Infiltration of the requisite villages to gain more intelligence...things of that nature."
"Since Jiraiya is looking after Naruto, and has been investigating Akatsuki on his own...he should know some of this information," Hiruzen says, looking to me. I nod once in affirmation. "As for Danzo, there is not much that I can do about him. Increasing surveillance is something he would notice right away, and take measures to counteract. And ROOT is already officially disbanded. From what I can understand, the members are unwilling, and possibly physically unable to talk about their dealings with him."
"The tongue seals, then."
"Yes. Other than with my authority, we have no power to seal him away in earnest."
"Troubling," Imari mumbles.
"Indeed. I did make a mistake in giving him so much power once before...but now it is too late to go back and change these things. We can only move forward, and try to make tomorrow brighter for everyone. In light of this new information, I will assign extra personnel to deal with the Hidden Cloud files. Things will be worked out rapidly, no matter the total cost. Conflict at this time is not something that we can easily afford."
"Sasuke may continue to be a problem, my lord," Erika says.
"Mm, yes. His mind seems to be made up on these issues..."
"Then that's more than a minor thing to deal with," Tamaki says.
Hiruzen rubs his chin. "Hmm. I believe there is one person who can start to plant the proper thoughts in his mind."
"Naruto, you mean." I let out a breath. "I need to talk with him already...it's been too long for us. I'll work it in the next time I see him. In any case, the Uchiha brat needs to be sorted out. Regular discipline isn't enough, it seems...and as I've warned Itachi before, if he steps too far out of line, he may very well get himself killed. By the by, thank you for your restraint, Erika."
"Of course. Since it was not entirely his fault this time, I felt it would be prudent to give him a pass..."
"That boy should be on his knees every fucking night from now on," Tamaki growls.
"Senpai, don't work yourself up again..."
"I wanted to give the kid a slap myself," Tsunade says with a smile. "But shit, it was awesome seeing our girl Tamaki spin his jaw a few times. Little prick knows not to fuck around now."
"Is there anything else?" Tamaki asks. She seems much calmer than before, at least. "We seem to have covered everything that's urgent. There are some things that we can change, and others we can't."
"Let's go over what we have a few more times," I say. "That way, we can be sure we have everything organized properly. It's already late, so we might as well..."
It's the next morning by now.
Erika, tired as she was before, fell asleep while we were talking. There's nothing to worry about on her part anyways, since she's always been able to pick things up quickly. The rest of us go over Itachi's speculations on Danzo and Akatsuki, and then formulate our own theories. We come to the same conclusion as before: that we can't do much of anything yet, but we can be ready for what might come in the future.
As far as Itachi's intentions are concerned, I don't say anything. If there's something he wants, he has direct lines to the village through myself, Erika, and Hiruzen. It should be left up to him in the end, even as I worry about his health.
Madara and Itachi are checking each other. If anything happens to Itachi, it might be that the Leaf would be in danger again. Would Danzo dare to join hands with one of the Leaf's most prolific traitors? I'm sure he's heard at least one rumour about Madara being alive. But then...it could just be a set of parallel experiments, since Hashirama's genetic material has been coveted for decades.
And just what would Madara do with all of the tailed beasts? Surely he doesn't need that many...after all, Hashirama did have a stranglehold on the world itself with just a simple majority of them under his control. That's another thing, though. Hashirama's legacy.
"..."
It amounts to blasphemy as far as the Leaf is concerned, but...that error he made, to freely trust people. That was a sin too heavy to describe. Why give up that much? For the sake of a dream? For faith? I can't understand it.
And I don't want to.
"That seems to be it for now," Tamaki says. "We should get some sleep, all of us."
"My apologies," Erika says, rubbing her eyes. She starts to shrug off the blanket we put over her earlier.
"There's nothing to apologize for," Imari tells her. "You should stay here and sleep properly. We have a couple of beds set up for when senpai and I have to work late. You can borrow mine-"
"She'll take mine. You can sleep in yours," Tamaki interrupts.
"Senpai, please."
"Imari."
They look at each other before Imari relents, nodding obediently. "Yes, senpai. But please, don't push yourself."
"I'm used to long nights and hard surfaces as it is. You just worry about keeping your strength up," she says with a smile. "When you're happy, I'm happy."
"Senpai..." She smiles brightly and nods. "Yes. I understand."
"I'll be heading home, then," I announce. "I think I'll eat something before bed...the tea was delicious, but I am famished. And Fio is probably up by now. I need to make sure she has something for work."
"Heh. You've got responsibilities, eh?" Tsunade teases.
"Yes, such is a maiden's life. Will our guest be taken care of properly?"
"I'm sure one of Danzo's dogs is hanging around outside. We'll drop him off somewhere and then they can take him home."
"Acceptable. Take care then, all of you. We will meet at a later time to put out various fires...so on and so forth." I yawn and wave to everyone, and Imari unseals the door as Tamaki starts to clean up.
I head straight home as promised, and start to ascend the steps towards the front door. My nose catches a whiff of something interesting.
"Someone's cooking...hmm..."
I wonder. Did Luna and Midori decide to pop in while I was gone? No...no, that smell isn't something I'm used to at home. It smells like something was burning briefly. I turn my key and open the door.
Fio is already awake at this hour, and she's in front of the stove working.
"Fio? Darling, it's very early for you. What are you up to?" I ask while removing my sandals.
"Oh, Lili. Welcome home! I got up a bit earlier than usual, yeah...you weren't back, so I got an idea and wanted to try this. Breakfast! I thought you'd be hungry by the time you came back in." She gives me a smile and finishes arranging her plate. One of Luna's far too big aprons is draped over her body, and she has a dirty cloth tucked under the apron string.
"I see..."
"Here's what I made for you. Hope you like it," she says as she puts the plate down on the table. I take a seat and look at it curiously. There are slices of toast that have been dipped in some mixture and fried...ah, yes. Momma used to cook these for me, as a secret breakfast treat. It was called 'poor knight', for reasons I cannot recall. The toast is dipped in an egg and milk mixture, fried, and topped with powdered sugar and honey. There's also regular toast on the side. An omelette made with ham, tomato, and cheese. Some tomato slices, warm tea, and a glass of milk.
"Did you want anything else?" Fio asks.
"No, no. I should be more than fine with this, my love. Thank you." I blink and look around. "I don't see another plate. Where is your portion?"
"Oh, I...got really nervous focusing on yours, so I forgot."
"Please don't neglect yourself for my sake, Fio. I can live with a little less...but thank you so much for this. I'll dig in right away before it gets cold."
The fried toast...hm. It's over seasoned. There's a bit of inconsistency as well. Not as firm as I assumed. The rest of the toast is a bit burnt, explaining what I smelled earlier. She used the oven to toast the bread manually, wanting a more authentic experience for me. As for the omelette...the opposite. Under seasoned on all fronts. Egg is a bit runny, under cooked. Ham is a bit tough and ended up overdone. Tea is sweeter than I would like.
"H-how is it?"
"Well, if you want my honest opinion...you burnt two slices of bread, and the other two are over seasoned with spices and sugar, and inconsistent in texture," I say to Fio as I slice through more of my omelette. "You under cooked the omelette, since the egg is a bit runny. The meat seems to be overcooked from when you put it in the pan. And the tea is too sweet."
She nods, looking ashamed. "I...I see. Thank you for being...honest...uh."
"What? What is it?"
"You...said it was..." She blinks and points at my plate. "But...you're still eating?"
"Yes, I'm eating."
"Why?"
I give her a look. "Because you made it for me. Honestly, what a foolish question on your part. You know better," I say as I finish my eggs. The toast is next, and I bite into it quickly. Those flavours are rich against my tongue.
"I don't understand. I...I screwed up. Right?" she asks, confused.
"And what if you did?" I finish off my tea, then drain my glass of milk afterwards and sigh. "Ah, that was good. Refreshing, even. A lovely meal to come home to."
Fio stands nearby and fidgets, still confused. I wipe my mouth and beckon her closer.
"Listen for a moment, my love."
"Okay..."
I turn myself to face her. "You did make mistakes today. It wasn't perfect. But I can taste things very well, you see. I could feel the effort you put into this dish. You did all of this for me from your heart. You wanted to make me happy. And you certainly did, Fio. I'm so proud of you."
"Lili..." She lowers her head, blushing.
"For someone who could barely eat food a while back, especially...this is a remarkable effort. Cooking like this is something I couldn't have done entirely on my own merits."
"You're...you're just saying that..."
"I'm really not. Luna-nee and Midori-nee taught me. They passed their skills down to me, and I practised for them and next to them. I was just a bit of a natural, perhaps, and I do have this tongue of mine to help me along. But you? You had your life practically reset, and you've managed to do all of this. Fio, never be ashamed of yourself. Never be ashamed of how far you've come. You are amazing, and you are wonderful."
Tears come to her eyes. "I want...to cook for you again one day. I want to do my best for you. You've given me so much, Lili. I just want to give back..."
"You have," I say.
"And I still have more to give you. A lot more. You'll be so happy, I promise...so thank you. Praising me like that means the world."
"I know I'll be happy with you, Fio. I'm looking forward to our future together. I love you."
"I love you, Lili. Thank you again...I'm so glad that I made you happy."
I stand and give her the biggest, warmest hug that I can muster.
"I know you've had a long day, so I'll clean all this up for you. Get yourself a shower and then sleep," she says, patting my back gently. "I'll pick up something on my way to work."
"No need for that, love. I planned ahead, just a little. Your lunch is in the refrigerator...I made sure to cook your favourite," I say with a smile.
She gasps. "It's steak day?"
"Mm-hm."
"Lili, you're the best!" She gives me several kisses on the cheek.
"Yes, of course. We both knew that much, hmhm."
"Okay, go and get washed up before bed. For me, please."
"I will, darling. Thank you again for this wonderful gift. Good morning, Fio."
I watch her smile, inches away from me. My heart is melting.
Fio really is amazing.
"You're welcome...forever and always. Good morning, Lili."