Precision
Sonnie
Mura stood in the teahouse restroom, which was actually composed of several areas. Closest to the exit was a large room with a couch, coffee table, and loveseat. A bouquet of orchids was in a white crystal vase and a recognizably expensive painting hung on the wall. At the end of the hall was an area that appeared designated for changing clothes, as the stalls had no plumbing, the floor was carpeted, and mirrors lined the walls.
Mura was by the sinks in the lavatory, gazing into a circular looking glass to determine if she looked as frazzled and helpless as she thought. The dinner had been a nightmare, one of the guests had nearly died, and more than half of the people at the table had been so frustrated or offended that they'd left altogether.
Kazekage-sama has enough to deal with already, Mura thought darkly. The last thing he needs to worry about a veritable circus of nins who can't behave themselves…
"Izari-san, are you in here?"
The quiet voice queried from the doorway, but the speaker wasn't shy. Mura saw that it was the youngest Kotable sibling, Amaya. Despite the fact Mura knew many distinctive-looking shinobi, there was something particularly striking about the young girl, yet in a decidedly understated way. Her demeanor was always serious and she never seemed to simply look the way a normal child did. There was no wonder or innocence in her expression, only acknowledgment. In fact, when Mura had spotted her several days earlier, without even knowing for certain she was a shinobi, she noted how responsible the girl was around her companions.
"Amaya-chan, you already know I'm back here," a voice called from around the corner. Mura had thought she'd been alone; Izari's presence in the nearby area surprised her, though she wasn't able to see her. From the sound of her voice, it sounded like she was in the last area. It was difficult to resist her curiosity, but she stayed where she was, allowing her information-gathering skills to collect the data, discreetly casting jutsus after the girl had passed.
Amaya wasn't concerned about the woman from Sand listening to them. The nature of her visit wasn't particularly interesting to outsiders anyway. Izari had been hunched in the corner of the room, knees gathered to her chin, spilling her vivid violet skirt across the thick ivory carpet. Izari barely glanced at Amaya, who was mildly puzzled why the blonde was sitting on the ground and not on the luxurious chaise provided. She noted that Izari's position was the only place in the room that didn't show up in a mirror.
"I wanted to make sure you're okay. Shikami told me what happened."
Izari's eyes narrowed. "Concerned, is he?"
"He tried to get in here but the management stopped him. He's very worried, and asked me to give this to you."
Amaya reached in her coat pocket and pulled out, to Mura's surprise, a carrot.
"Shikami always said that carrots are good for your eyes, but they don't do his much good," Amaya admitted.
In spite of herself, Izari smiled.
"Well, since I delivered his message, I should probably try and find him. I think the management tried to call the police. He was trying to enter the women's bathroom with a bag of fruit and vegetables…I don't think they understood him." Amaya sighed indulgently. "But then again, not many people do understand him."
Izari gave her a lopsided grin and shook her head.
Ayama smiled and bowed to Izari and left, giving Mura a sweet smile and a cute wave on the way out. In the bright tungsten lights of the bathroom, Mura noticed how dark and glossy her hair was, with beautiful ringlets that curled beautifully around her face in a distinctly whimsical, childlike way. When the end of her pink coat disappeared around the corner, Mura considered that the girl had paid her no mind on the way in. It was only after Mura had entertained thoughts of her being so adult that the girl finally acted her age, the little wave replaying in her mind.
It's not as if she can read minds, Mura rationalized as she returned her attention to the mirror. Still not entirely satisfied that she looked her normal unflappable self, she had no choice but to meet up with her boss.
-O-
Neji felt that he could take deep breaths all night long and still suffocate under the weight of his fury. He stood on one of the balconies of the teahouse, oblivious to the icy air around him. In fact, it only seemed to make his anger burn more clearly. Kenji's words didn't just sting, they fell like axe blows upon a battered branch.
Because everything he said was true. I used to convince myself, very unsuccessfully, that Tenten wasn't any good for me. First it was because she wasn't strong enough…but that changed, didn't it? She's not the best but she's good at what she does. There's such honesty and connectedness in what she does…weapons truly belong in her hands.
Then I thought that we were incompatible because of my family name and her lack on one…but that didn't last long; the excuse was too feeble. Kenji's right; my uncle would be far from thrilled if I married Tenten. The chance of any children having Byakugan wouldn't be that high, and the odds of my skill being passed along with my bloodline? A child without the benefit of pure blood could not possess my capabilities.
And now…now when it feels like I'm finally starting to get her back, I see myself losing her at the same time. I'm starting to see parts of her I don't like. She's stopped trying to hide all of her flaws from me and I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted. There was a time when she'd never look at another man when I was around, and even if I wasn't. Now she flirts with men right in front of me, though she was never really mine…she was mine.
"Neji?"
Neji instantly recognized the voice. It wasn't a pleasant recognition, but before any retort or insult could jump to his lips, he hesitated. Neji couldn't find bad words for Jou, not when she had stood up for Tenten when he did not. Neji inclined his head towards her somewhat receptively. Jou sighed when she realized that was all she was going to get, but her resignation wasn't directed at him. He could sense, rather than see, her shoulders tensing for what was undoubtedly another one of her lectures. He didn't care that he didn't live up to her expectations of a good friend, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear about it, especially not now.
"What do you want?"
"I know I'm not nice to you. I know I never have good things to say to you. But I don't do it to be mean, I do it because you're so important to people I care about. I get tired of you hurting them."
Neji wasn't sure if a response was necessary, and was relieved when she continued unprompted.
"You, Tenten, and my brother were such a great team, once. For all of your differences, you made sure these conflicts never made their way onto the battlefield; they never interfered with the mission. Believe it or not, I admire you for that, for usually being able to see the bigger picture. You relied on each other, needed each other, understood each other, and trusted each other. You three aren't like that anymore."
"Asazaki, Chiie, and Kenji used to be just like you. They were a perfect team. They were even best friends. Izari-chan told me once that she never knew of a three-man-cell so efficient. But things obviously didn't stay that way."
Jou smiled sadly, dark eyes gazing at the moon distantly.
"They…they were so close until they realized Izari was leaving, that she couldn't be their instructor anymore. No one has a better sense of duty or has sacrificed more, and that's even taking into account her departure from Kumo. But Chiie, Asazaki, and Kenji…they all felt so differently about it. Chiie defended her and still does. Asazaki was on the fence…he never had money, so it wasn't a situation he could really understand, and while he didn't judge her harshly, he wasn't supportive of her. And Kenji…Kenji was so disappointed in her. Kenji hated her for doing it. He resented what he saw as her unwillingness to stand up for herself. He hurt them."
"Are you saying that we're like them, that I'm like him?" Neji demanded icily, not liking the parallels she was alluding to.
"No." Jou's answer was firm. "I know exactly why he acts the way he does, but his reasons don't impress me, not at all. I'm saying that those three: Asazaki, Chiie, and Kenji, used to love each other as friends. They were a three-man cell at its most perfect. Three people that were closer teammates than you, Lee, and Tenten ever were grew to hate, mistrust, and resent each other more than any other human beings I've met. If it can happen to people like that, who's to say it can't happen to you three too?"
I'm not like that, was the first thought that jumped to Neji's mind before he realized that half of his thoughts and actions were designed to create distance, erect barriers, and protect himself…like any good ninja. And Kenji…was a very good ninja. His behavior didn't win him any friends but it guaranteed no distractions…
Some people, those who are good at sorting out their feelings and strong enough to believe in them, find strength and comfort from such attachments, Neji thought. And other people, people who've grown up similarly alienated but not as confident, not as wise, view such relationships as a detriment. There's that extra step that others have gone…people like Naruto. Some people are not only strong enough for themselves, but strong enough for others.
"Tenten and my brother…they need you. You need them. Deep down, I think you know that. I just wish you'd act like it. My brother knows you care about him and I accept that. It's hard to spot, but you do, I can tell. But I don't know if Tenten knows. And when you love someone, I suppose it's harder to show them. In no way do you act as wretchedly as Kenji, but the similarities are there, the potential to wreck everything. But Tenten's not a lost cause; Neji, you've still got a chance."
"Sometimes, I wonder if I've already lost her," Neji said quietly, revealing a piece of information to her that he had barely acknowledged himself.
"As long as you care if you have, you haven't," Jou answered. "Tenten still has a whole heart left. She's not empty. Sometimes people go astray and get lost, but Tenten's lucky enough to always have people looking for her. You're just another guide, and when it comes to her, I think I can stand you enough to let you help."
Jou glanced sideways at Neji. "You do want to help, right?"
Neji weighed her tone in his mind; it was a statement, not a question. With a quiet nod, he listened to her fading footsteps before turning his eyes back to the night. Before she gone entirely, he barely caught her words.
"Thank you."
-O-
"I wish that asshole could have kept his mouth shut," Shikamaru grumbled to Kankurou. The two nins were standing by the bar close to the entrance. They both decided on a quick drink of something heavier than wine was in order after the night they'd had.
"I don't know what I'd do if I had a brother like Kenji," Kankurou muttered.
"Personally, I just ignore him," a voice said as it walked past them. The pair looked up in time to see a very sheepish looking Shikami being led away in handcuffs.
Kankurou stared. "What happened?"
"Umm…a misunderstanding?" Shikami offered meekly, his imprisoned wrists handicapping his shrug.
"I haven't seen you in fifteen minutes and you've been arrested?" Shikamaru asked blankly.
"They have very prompt police officers in this country, I've noticed," Shikami commented before being pushed out the door.
-O-
Tenten managed to stop herself from slamming the bathroom door upon realizing she was not alone. Too angry to even notice the first room, when she saw Mura at the sink, she hurried down the hall immediately giving no thought to what might lie beyond. She was shocked to discover Izari, of all people, looking spaced out of her mind absently munching on a carrot.
Tenten wasn't sure what had made her stick up for the Lightning nin at dinner. But the Izari she knew from Fire Country was gone, and in her place was someone withdrawn, quiet, and bookish. She just…didn't fight. It wasn't as if she was scared, but she just didn't seem to have it in her, something Tenten was unwilling to accept after watching her stick up for Jou countless times before.
"You okay, Ten-san?" Izari asked, eyes still staring ahead blankly.
"Couldn't I ask you the same thing?" Tenten asked dryly; standing in a room full of mirrors made sure she knew a list of what wasn't wrong would be a lot shorter.
Izari snorted. "Kenji get to you too?"
"Yeah. Was he that bad as a genin?"
Izari snorted. "Worse."
"How the hell could someone be worse than that?"
Izari made some unpleasant face that Tenten wasn't able to read. "The responsibilities of heir were thrust upon Kenji practically from birth. Shikami made it quite clear, from an early age, that he had no interest in anything his father wanted for him."
Neji's life sure would have been different if his uncle had done that to him instead of Hanabi, Tenten thought, remembering how Hinata had been similarly overlooked.
"Their father grew to be indifferent to Shikami, focusing all of his attention on Kenji. Kenji is…well, he's always been under intense scrutiny to behave a certain way. He's not supposed to be nice. In fact, when he was smaller, he actually was very sweet, a trait that was stamped out early. By the time he got to me he was trained by his father to be ruthlessly competitive, and with Asazaki around, it was far from fun."
"I still can't believe you got control of a genin team when you were twelve."
"Well, I was practically thirteen," Izari shrugged without false modesty. "God, they were a handful. Kenji never took my lessons seriously, at least until he realized Asazaki was. Those two were unbearable, and poor Chiie…What a talented girl. And for a brief time, for a period of about eighteen months before I had to leave them as an instructor, they were brilliant, even perfect. They got along. They were close. They trusted each other. And then I found out I had to get married. Things fell apart."
Tenten heard that last statement in her mind as cold and clear as a bell. It almost seemed to lash across her brain, because it summarized exactly how she felt when she'd parted ways with Neji and Lee. It wasn't immediately after, the time and place weren't something she could pin down, but the feeling of helplessness wasn't something that had left her, not even more than a year and a half later. She looked at Izari; if anyone knew about a life unraveling, it would be her. She empathized with the blonde woman for perhaps the very first time, because she knew without a doubt that Izari just understood.
"It was one of the worst days of my life, telling them about the decision my brother made with the Raikage. Asazaki knew he'd probably never see me again, that I would become like every other rich person that ignored him. He had always thought I was different, that I would stand up for myself. I disappointed him. And Kenji realized that despite my power and ability, I wasn't strong enough to fight a decision and he promptly dismissed me. I guess he was expecting me to fight it, too. Chiie alone stuck up for me; she understood duty better than either of them."
Tenten felt the sharp bitterness of Izari's voice not only upon her ears, but in the air around her. She wondered if the woman knew how strongly she was projecting her emotions.
"Chiie was the only one that was concerned for me as a person, the only one who didn't view me as a symbol of defiance against the hierarchy they both resented. She was the only one of the three who truly knew what situation I was in, because she had spent such a large amount of time in it herself. She spent so much time trying to fit in with her team, just like I tried to fit in with my peers. And while my acceptance was blessedly and unexpectedly quick amongst my teammates, she labored for years to get their recognition."
Tenten was instantly grateful for the fact that her strong, male teammates had accepted her quickly, had acknowledged her skills and worth. Chiie had always been nice, but there was always strength and urgency to her actions, a sort of underlying eagerness and nervousness. It was as if she could never truly relax…
"All of Chiie's hard work…And in an instant she was discarded by them both. All along she wasn't good enough to beat them, and after I announced that I'd soon be getting engaged, they never encouraged her at all. That's why she got so close to Rikichi, I suppose…she later apprenticed herself to him."
"Apprenticed?"
"All of us trained under the same rigid curriculum as genin, but as chuunin, we were expected to pick a field. In order to become jounin, we had to pass not only a universal shinobi field exam, but a preliminary medical exam as well. It wasn't anything as advanced as a true medical student at a university, but it was very difficult. Every ninja in Lightning Country is required to have a medical specialization."
"That sucks."
Izari smiled. "It was tough, yes, but as long as you took it seriously, it wasn't too bad."
"There's some people from Hidden Leaf that would make terrible doctors," Tenten muttered, thinking about how many times Sai would get decked for telling a woman how ugly she was.
"Some people simply shouldn't be in the field, but it's a requirement. It's been an accepted practice for so long that it's not even a big deal anymore. Ugh, there was this one student apprenticed to Mihana-san…I'm so glad he wasn't my genin student or I'd have kicked him through a wall. Laziest man I ever met."
"Lazier than Shikamaru?"
Izari laughed. "He makes Shikamaru look like he works harder than Rock Lee. Every student was sent to Rikichi's mother at some point because no one was better at physical training. Reflexes, speed, strength…she was a slave driver and I'm sure she still is, but did she produce results. The very first thing she did was work on improving our stamina by making us perform menial tasks all day, such as cleaning a room or painting a house. And I can honestly say that Jin, the lazy bastard, came up with jutsus that did all of those things. I don't know how he's so good with seals, I've never seen the guy read, but he's insanely creative."
"You can perform jutsus that do all of your chores?" Tenten asked skeptically.
"He was washing dishes, scrubbing linoleum tiles, vacuuming the carpet, and doing the laundry all at once while he sat on his ass doodling in a notebook and listening to music in the next room. Mihana-san was furious, which is probably why he's so fast; you've got to be fast to outrun someone like that."
"Are all of the ninjas from your country crazy?" Tenten asked.
"Yes."
Tenten wasn't expecting such an emphatic answer, and only nodded in response.
"Every single person you're going to meet from our country has been so thoroughly socially conditioned in some mishandled, awkward way that in no way could we ever be construed as normal. Some of us are friendly, but we've all got problems…to put it mildly. 'Specially me and Shikami, now that I think about it."
"I can't say I get the guy," Tenten admitted. "He showed genuine remorse about what he did today."
"He is sorry," Izari said earnestly. "Even if I didn't know he was actually a really nice guy, I can feel that he is."
"You can feel it?"
"My bloodline, at my level, makes me extremely susceptible to outside stimuli," Izari began. "I'm very vulnerable to base emotions and feelings; agitation, fear, pain…anyone and everything, even animals, especially animals. Animals' emotions are purer because they don't have all that rational thought getting in the way, there's just instinct. It's why I refuse to eat meat."
"The steak…"
Izari lost considerable color in her face. "I haven't eaten meat since I was six. I threw up the last time I tried, to be honest. If you ever want to have a bloodline, remember that some people don't have the luxury of turning it off. I'm bombarded by people's emotions nonstop throughout the day, but it's the children that lack shinobi training and let their emotions run wild that affect me most. It has its uses, but sometimes 'power' is more of a burden than a gift."
"Maybe if I had a bloodline I wouldn't feel so goddamned useless," Tenten sighed, leaning her head back against a cool wooden panel.
"What did Kenji say to you, exactly?"
"Oh, the typical 'you're uneducated,' 'you're weak,' and 'you're useless' spiel," Tenten attempted nonchalance but failed miserably.
"For as rich as his family is, they had to grow up incredibly fast," Izari said distantly. "I'll bet it was similar with your friend, Neji."
Tenten's first thought was that there was no way in hell he was anything like Neji, but realized with a start that she didn't know a lot about how Neji grew up, and the knowledge made her very sad.
"I know that Rikichi, Shikami and I were all on the same schedule as genin. Every day was planned; get up at four-thirty, have lessons, eat breakfast, have more lessons, eat lunch, lessons again, dinner, yet even more lessons, then bedtime. Seven days a week, no breaks unless you were injured or ill; genin weren't sent out on missions, really. It just set you up for becoming a chuunin, when you'd pick a field or area of concentration and serve as an apprentice. Everyone contributes to society somehow; Lightning Country accepts nothing less than excellence."
"Sounds like torture," Tenten told her frankly.
"We used to spend nearly every second of every day together," Izari murmured. "Hell, Yoshida even locked us all in a tiny apartment for a week straight as soon as our teams were formed. We started the day off as strangers and wound up in the same bed, huddling together for warmth in the poor excuse for a sardine can Yoshida shoved us into. After that, we were inseparable, the three of us."
"Even though it sounded really tough, I think you miss it," Tenten told her.
"You never miss the good old days?" Izari returned without missing a beat.
"Sometimes," Tenten admitted. "Things were a lot less complicated."
"Complicated isn't necessarily bad," Izari began, but quickly added, "Though it is a pain in the ass. I'm so glad that even though Rikichi, Shikami, and I were so close growing up, it never got weird, at least not until they found out I was getting married."
"I can't imagine what Neji or Lee would do if Gai-sensei married me off to the daimyo," Tenten chuckled.
"Well, Neji would probably bust a vein," Izari snorted.
Tenten laughed. "Or kill the daimyo." She grimaced when she realized what she said.
Izari's eyes went vacant. "For as close as Shikami and I were, it was never what I'd call a romance. Love, definitely, but not in the kind of way where you want to marry them or grow old together or have children or anything like that. To be honest, I've never seen him in love with anyone, not even remotely. But with him and I…it was just…I don't know, this really perfect friendship where we'd put the other person first. I can honestly say I never held it against him that he killed my husband."
At Tenten's puzzled expression, Izari sighed.
"I loved my husband as a person but not as a man, and as a political figure his very life was always at risk. I think I held it against Shikami for doing something that he knew would hurt me, even though that wasn't his intent in doing it. We spent so long, what seemed like forever – ten years – never hurting one another. We weren't perfect angels but we were never mean-spirited, never cruel or harsh. They protected me."
Tenten knew what she meant when Izari's unabashed wistfulness washed over her. It was almost as if she could feel the longing as if it were her own. The feeling of Neji's eyes on her if she hesitated in battle…the blur of green that would whiz by if she cried out…There was nothing else like it, knowing that your teammates had your back.
I miss it, Tenten thought. I thought for so long that I needed to break free from it in order to thrive as a shinobi.
"I'm not trying to be rude (please believe me now, I'm being serious) but I've got a tiny piece of wisdom for you. Not advice, but more along the lines of a useful observation."
"Okay…"
"You and Neji…well, there's not a whole lot to you aside from being a shinobi. Not that it's the only thing you've got going for you, but it's clear that neither of you wants to be anything else. Not everything has to be so complicated between you – you're both over thinking. Why were you close in the first place?"
"We were a team," Tenten answered automatically, "But it was more than that. Even though Lee and Gai-sensei always trained together, Neji never sought anyone else to train with aside from me. We always had a strange kind of bond."
"Well, you were stuck on a team of loonies," Izari eyed her pointedly, but she smiled.
Tenten smiled back. "Maybe that's how it started, but eventually we just kind of fell into place together…without even trying. I don't like the idea of having to work so hard for something that used to be effortless."
"If it were still effortless, it would mean that neither of you has changed in over eight years."
"That's not what I mean."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know!"
"Is that what you want, to be the same girl you were eight years ago?"
"No, it's just…it shouldn't be this hard!" Tenten stammered finally. "I don't want things to be the way they were, but things haven't changed that much, have they?"
"Well…have they?"
"I—"
Tenten stopped mid-sentence, closing her mouth before opening it, then closing it again. She sighed. "Neji became a jounin when he was fifteen, and I became one when I was seventeen. I joined ANBU for a year on my eighteenth birthday, and ever since my nineteenth birthday I've just been…well, I don't really know what I want."
"You do want Neji, though, am I right?"
"Yeah, but…"
Tenten paused, despite how easy the answer had come.
"You don't know what else you want beyond that, do you?"
Tenten's shoulders fell.
Izari looked at her carefully. "Allow me to pose a hypothetical: if Neji were to fall off the face of the earth, at this very moment, and all you were permitted to cherish was one memory, one special trait about all the time you two have ever spent together, what would it be? What would you miss the most?"
"I miss fighting by his side," Tenten answered in a heartbeat, realizing that it wasn't much of a hypothetical question. Neji had been pretty much erased from her life over the past few years, not through any series of deliberate decisions, but through choices she made and their outstanding consequences. For all intents and purposes, he almost was gone, at least had fallen off of her earth.
But she hadn't forgotten, not in the slightest, how exhilarating it had been, with Neji at her back, her at his. She knew that he wanted her there, needed her to cover that tiny fraction of a degree that he called a blind spot. She had once secretly found it to be her saving grace, her raison d'être, in many ways, or at least just one: it meant that she would be with him a little longer, that she was necessary.
"From what I can tell, the dream of fighting by his side again isn't so far-fetched. You are both alive, after all, and from what I've learned today, that's the best place to start."
Tenten looked at Izari carefully. "How come you're so good at talking things through?"
"I was on a team of loonies too," Izari said flatly. "Don't let them fool you. They're freaking weird."
"They don't seem too bad, despite what you said."
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure Shikami was just arrested, so we'll just have to see tomorrow."
-O-
"Are you trying to sabotage us?" Shukuchi asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he addressed a rather apathetic Kenji.
"We've gone this long without help and then you expect me to be okay when you suddenly ask for it…what about all the people who died so far? It's like admitting that their sacrifices weren't good enough, that they weren't good enough."
"If they were this war would have been over a long time ago," Shukuchi snapped. "Your dad is giving his ninjas missions and objectives that conflict with mine; I'm only eight so for the time being I'm going to have to live with that. But whenever there's an argument you always have to take things to the next level. What you said to Hyuuga Neji was inexcusable. I'm not going to ask you to apologize; no apology should be made if it has to be forced, as it's obviously insincere, but I am going to ask that you stop antagonizing people. I'm going to demand it, actually."
Kenji said nothing, did nothing to betray how he felt or what he was thinking. It was very surprising when finally, after a moment, he spoke.
-O-
Fifty miles outside Snow Country, a blond-haired shinobi was casually relaxing outside his camp. Despite the cold weather, he was in a good mood. For the first time that day he was alone, and he relished it. Reaching into his bag, his hand closed around an elegant glass bottle. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to take his first sip, something he'd been looking forward to all week.
"Jin-san, didn't Obaa-chan tell you not to drink on the way here?"
Jin blinked in disbelief at the four-year-old face looking at him critically.
How in the hell do they sneak up on me? Jin expelled a breath sharply. I swear, sensei teaches them to do this on purpose.
"This is just water," Jin assured her, mussing her hair affectionately, which didn't stop her dark brown eyes from regarding the bottle in his hands with suspicion.
"That's not water."
Jin's head jerked around to look at a nearly-identical small face with the same dark eyes. Jin scowled.
Twins. Honestly.
"But it's clear like water," Jin reasoned.
"It smells like the stuff Tou-chan puts on his cuts," the first girl said, the bottle now in her hands.
"Give that back!" Jin successfully swiped the bottle out of their tiny fingers, in time for him to be caught red-handed.
"Sensei!" Jin smiled broadly at the dangerously narrowed eyes glaring daggers at him. Inwardly he was withering, but years of experience had at least taught him how to put on a game face.
"Jin, give me the bottle."
"But it's a bottle of Diaka…do you know how expensive that is? They distill it using diamonds and I had to pay a guy a fortune just to get that before it was available to the…" Jin ran a hand through his blond hair helplessly before handing it over without another word.
"Thank you, Jin." A cool smile, then a steady sip. "I've always wanted to try it."
Jin balked. "Then buy your own damn bottle!"
"JIN, IF YOU SWEAR IN FRONT OF MY GRANDCHILDREN AGAIN I WILL MAKE SURE YOU REGRET IT FOREVER."
Jin shrunk back.
"Yes, ma'am."
Back at camp, Jin sorrowfully watched his bottle of exclusive, pricey vodka disappear down the throat of his sensei.
"Thought there wasn't supposed to be drinking on this trip," Jin grumbled.
His sensei laughed, a deceptively sweet sound. "Just on your part."
"Why just on my part?"
His sensei laughed again.
"Because I wanted that bottle of vodka."
Jin buried his face in his hands and groaned.
-O-
"So, all in all, not one of the best dinners I've been to, but the wine was superb," Asazaki's weak attempt at humor brought a smile to Sakura's worried face. His voice was understandably hoarse, but that didn't stop him from attempting small talk.
"Well, at least Kenji didn't do this to you on purpose…" Sakura trailed off hopefully.
"Doing something a second time takes away some of the thrill, I suppose," Asazaki muttered ironically.
"He's the one responsible before?"
"Honestly, for the sake of my own sanity, I maintain it was an accident, though I could be wrong," Asazaki told Sakura nonchalantly.
"Asazaki, you almost died, quit trying to be charming!" Chiie snapped.
"Chiie-chan is jealous," Asazaki's weak voice sang.
Chiie gave him a look so withering and cold that Sakura was amazed his blood didn't freeze in his veins.
"Sakura-chan, could you leave us alone for a few minutes, please?" Chiie's request was so earnest that Sakura acquiesced instantly, without question. Only when Sakura had shut the door behind her, did Chiie speak. Her very quiet voice took him aback; Chiie rarely spoke so softly or deliberately.
"Asazaki, my family's been evicted. Our mentor, and truthfully, the only force that kept our positions here safe, is gone. And now we're being forced to return to Kumo or we'll be branded as missing nins. I have no doubt that Kenji will kill us if we refuse to go back."
"You really think he'd do that?"
"Yes."
"Chiie…I know you've got every reason to hate him, but the guy isn't evil. Killing his two best friends—"
"—Former best friends," Chiie corrected.
"—Is something not even he would be able to go through with. I think you've misjudged him."
"I've misjudged him?"
"Chiie, listen—"
"No, you listen!"
The vehemence in Chiie's voice silenced Asazaki immediately.
"Everything is changing. You can't go around acting like nothing's wrong. I see the way you look at Tenten-chan. I'm the last person to discourage anyone but her heart belongs to someone else."
"He didn't come to her defense, not once," Asazaki said quietly. "Hyuuga pride apparently prevents one from sticking up for others."
"It wouldn't have looked good if he did," Chiie told him. "It would have made it look like she couldn't defend herself."
"Well, it's not like it made much difference, as she was gone by the time I got back. I'm just glad that Hyuuga got what he deserved—"
"—No one deserved that!" Chiie cried exasperatedly. "Just think about how Kenji acted tonight. He's nervous. And if that block of ice is nervous, it means things are a lot worse back home than my family's letting on. Asazaki, aren't you scared?"
"Kumo did nothing to protect my sister. Why should I do anything to help them?"
"Are you so secure in the knowledge Kenji might not kill you that you're willing to risk your life?" Chiie asked.
"I've got nothing to lose."
"How can you say that?"
"Fuck Hidden Cloud. They put that demon into Yugito and then abandon her at the mercy of criminals? I hope they all burn."
Chiie looked like she'd just been slapped. She backed away from him, looking at him as if she didn't know him. Finally gathering herself together, she stalked out of the room without a word, passing a very confused Sakura on the way out. The tiny nin passed Takayori, not even acknowledging him as she stormed past him.
Takayori, to Sakura's well-trained eye, suddenly looked much older than his thirty-years belied; the difference, however, was only in his eyes. He glanced past her, to where Asazki's fingers were fidgeting with the sheets, exhibiting a rare sign of discomfort.
"It's been a long night, huh?" Takayori offered, though it wasn't much of a question.
Sakura nodded. "Yeah."
-O-
"…Our scientists have been attempting to change its course somehow, to slow it down, speed it up, do whatever we need to in order to get it back on course, but it's out of our control."
Gaara didn't like hearing his sister's voice so grim. He took a deep, even breath before answering.
"Suna won't survive another two years without rain. The weather system has to be altered somehow or the village with perish. We have a whole branch of the government devoted to this kind of research."
"We can't move an entire storm system, not one powerful enough that it sustains the village for years at a time," Temari sighed wearily.
"There's no chance it will hit us, even a fraction?" Gaara's voice was devoid of emotion.
"We've checked the trajectory again and again—it's going to pass too far to the east and miss us by over a hundred miles. All that rain will fall into the ocean."
Gaara thought about how horribly twisted and unfair that was, that a bunch of fish in an ocean full of water would be tossed around and destroyed in a storm that his village needed for its very survival.
"What measures have we taken?"
"We've always been strict on water rations; I have us down to bare minimum; the last thing we need are even more civilian complaints, though. There's been a small emigration of citizens to other villages within Wind; I'm just grateful they're not leaving the country entirely."
"Their departure will still impact the economy," Gaara muttered. "The rising cost of water and the ongoing restrictions hit businesses the hardest. Over the next few years we'll have to expect the majority of these merchants to leave. If the situation is as dire as it sounds, the daimyo will undoubtedly push for an alliance with Hidden Cloud."
"How are negotiations going?"
"More like 'how many insults can they cram into a sentence,' " Gaara replied bitterly. "One of the delegates, Kenji, has clear objections to an alliance. He clearly does not want the help, and I must say I am not eager to give it."
"We're going to need the money." There was no hesitation or wavering in Temari's statement. It was purely a fact she was reciting. "I don't know what Konoha is planning to do, but our course is pretty much set."
This grim, sober realization sat heavily between them, cradled in the long silence from both ends as they considered the ramifications of helping a country in the midst of a vicious civil war.
"How is Lee doing?" Gaara, in a rare effort to change the subject for the sake of his sister, decided on something far more light-hearted. "He's not getting in your way, is he?"
"I think some of our more seasoned taijutsu masters are having a hard time accepting that there's someone out there so eager to learn everything; they're convinced he only wants to know Suna's best-kept hand-to-hand combat secret techniques. His enthusiasm is a little disturbing for the inexperienced. Hearing the occasional complaint about Rock Lee is better than getting reports about how the village is doomed to extinction within the next few months. Seriously, though, why did you request that he be sent here, especially at a time like this?"
"Lee's someone that will try as hard as ten men to get a job done. For being insanely eager to please, he's not a yes-man and he's not a pushover. You're going to have to call in a lot of favors, and you need someone strong enough to back you up; you're formidable by yourself but having a representative from another shinobi nation adds another dimension of urgency to any request. I'm sure you've noticed he's very willing to do almost anything you ask, and I knew you'd need the help. I also know that he's too obnoxiously decent and honest for you to take total advantage of him, so I thought I'd spare Mura the task of being your slave."
The silence on the other end was unreadable.
"Am I wrong?"
"Mura is very efficient…"
"But I need her here with me."
"Leaving me the 'B-Team' then?"
"Rock Lee is hardly 'B-Team' material. He's just better suited for vigorous errand-running and a slavish schedule and Mura is better suited for observation and sensitive information-gathering."
"You just wanted Mura all to yourself," Temari said smugly, and Gaara instantly knew she was teasing him.
"Why would I want her all to myself?"
Gaara detected and wondered at the disbelief reflected in his sister's sigh. "Have you looked at her? She's a beautiful girl, Gaara. She's smart enough to know that she's not going to win your heart by fawning all over you like Matsuri."
"I'm not convinced Mura's out to 'win my heart,' as you put it," Gaara replied.
Gaara could practically hear Temari shrug on the other end. "Sure, whatever."
Gaara ignored her ironic tone with ease. "We're meeting with the Lightning nins later this week. If anything changes, let me know."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," Temari said solemnly.
As Gaara hung up the phone, he glimpsed Mura approaching.
"I thought you were staying with the dining party."
"The dining party, ah…" Mura was fishing for a verb with a little less bite than 'got the hell up and left.'
"Dispersed?" Gaara supplied helpfully.
"Yeah…something like that…"
-O-
Jou hated to admit it, but upon leaving the teahouse, she was lost. She'd been on her way to the bathroom about twenty minutes earlier when she'd seen Mura slink inside; Jou didn't know her well, but didn't particularly want the Sand nin to possible follow her, so she'd decided to wait until she got home.
I come to Snow Country often but I'm not good with directions…I probably should have thought this through a little better…
Jou watched the warm breath from her sigh waft through the chilly night air. Temporarily distracted, she pitched forward when the door behind her swung open. It took her a moment to catch her balance, and when she looked up, a very sheepish-looking, handcuffed Shikami was being led away by police officers, one of which was holding a large brown bag. When he spotted her, his eyes widened.
"Grab the bag!"
Tenten watched in wonder as the handcuffs suddenly fell from his wrists. Yoshida told her of his nephew's talents, but he never used his own in front of her before. The tiny screws in the handcuffs seemed to simply pop out.
"You didn't even need to use a jutsu—"
"Grab the bag and follow me!"
Jou reacted without thinking, grabbing the brown bag and running after him. She watched him perform a jutsu and the men froze momentarily, looking confusedly back and forth between each other.
"What did you do to them?" Jou demanded.
"They're fine, come on," Shikami urged, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along. When he glanced back, he added, "Watch those bananas near the top! Don't drop them, they're chill-sensitive!"
"Why do you have a bag of fruit?" Jou said, allowing herself to be led.
"There's some vegetables in there, too. Perhaps I should have said 'produce' instead," Shikami said thoughtfully, stopping suddenly. Jou bowled right into him, causing the predictable result of sending her flying. Shikami managed to grab her wrist and catch the bag.
"Hey, I've got an idea. Follow me!"
-O-
Long after Sakura and Takayori left him, Asazaki turned his head to the side, despite a throbbing pain in his neck, to look out the window of his hospital room.
In some ways…in a lot of ways…I'd rather die than go back, he thought calmly. Not one part of me wants to fight for Kenji's old man; the bastard deserves whatever he gets. The country went to hell a long time ago, before I was even born. Let it get itself out of it.
Asazaki thought about all the people he ever cared about, and how he'd pretty much lost them all already, in one way or another. Granted, he had more than a passing fondness for Izari and Rikichi and Chiie and the like, but he suspected they would be a lot more willing to fight for the country than he was. Growing up, everyone else always had reasons to fight.
I've always longed for a sense of real connection to Kumo, but I never got it. Yugito was the closest thing to family I ever had, and the only person I can honestly say I've really ever loved. She was the only true tie to Kumo, one that was cruelly severed years ago. It was like my final bridge had burned itself up…
Chiie's right. The world is changing. Our world is changing. But I can't ignore the big part of me that just wants to see it all burn in hell.
-O-
Hajime knew that smoking was terrible for him. He knew that if his sister was around, she'd probably flip out and give him a lengthy lecture on how much money he was spending on them and how he'd get cancer and how he'd have to spend a lot of money on medical help because of the cancer.
Riis, you don't know how good a vice is, Hajime thought, shaking his head. After that dinner tonight, I deserve this.
Hajime knew that the appearance of the Lightning nins very likely meant that he, his sister, Riis, and her former-teammate and fellow conservatory instructor, Midori, would likely be returning home unwillingly. He was secretly happy that Riis and Midori hadn't been at the dinner, too, or some bad shit would have really gone down.
Everyone's always fighting, Hajime thought helplessly. Everyone likes to argue except me.
Hajime happened to glance up at a noise, and when he spotted a very small, very cranky red-haired Lightning nin stomping down the sidewalk across from him, he watched her with interest. He was quite surprised that she wasn't making tiny little size-5½ shoeprints in the cement itself. Knowing there was never a good time to confront anyone about the subject matter he was intent on, but considering what was happening, he didn't have time to wait. Very cautiously, Hajime approached, looking for any signs that it really was a bad time to do so.
"Um…Chiie-san?"
Without warning, Chiie's fist shot out, nearly catching him in the face. He grabbed her wrist and held it firmly, having anticipated an attack of some kind. Though he wasn't much larger than she was, his size was serving as a temporary advantage, if only because of the reach.
"Thanks for not following up with your famous uppercut," Hajime blurted out. He wasn't trying to be funny, it was truly the first thing that jumped into his mind. The last person she delivered her infamous uppercut to was carried on a stretched to the hospital, his teeth in his buddy's pocket.
"Oh my god, Hajime-chan, I didn't mean—" Chiie just kind of lost it and a ton of words started pouring out of her mouth in a jumble. "It's been such a terribly night and Asazaki's in the hospital and somehow he's not scared at all that we have to haul ass back to Lightning Country or Kenji will kill us and I really think Kenji will kill us because he's an evil, heartless bastard and I just wish that Yoshida was here—"
Hajime felt a pang at Yoshida's name. He missed the man a lot, but that wasn't the reason. At the mention of another man's name from Chiie's mouth, it always caused an unintentional twinge of jealousy he was hard-pressed to control. He'd hidden his feelings for her very carefully, but it didn't make it less painful to know she looked up to other men more than him. Asazaki was handsomer, Rikichi was funnier, Kenji was stronger…Pushing all those thoughts aside, Hajime concentrated on calming her down.
"Shhh, it's alright," Hajime soothed, realizing that the woman was so tense she was borderline hysterical. He steered them towards an alley that afforded them some shelter from the bitter cold. He held her as she cried, having a rather good idea what it was really about.
"Chiie…"
"Yeah?"
"There's no good time to ask you this, but it's the middle of the night in a deserted alley, and I know we're not being watched…"
"…What is it?" Chiie asked anxiously, her tears beginning to freeze on her cheeks.
"At the risk of sounding insensitive, then…"
"Damn it, get to the point!"
"How far are you along?"
Chiie wrenched herself from his grasp and threw her back against the opposite wall of the alleyway. The sight of her mouth open in disbelief was rather funny, but Hajime knew it wasn't exactly in his best interest to laugh.
"How the hell do you know?"
Hajime shrugged, avoiding the question. "You're in your second trimester, aren't you?"
"Once again, how the hell do you know?"
Hajime blinked. "Ever since you were thirteen you'd start off your day with three shots of espresso coffee. You haven't touched coffee, not since early August."
"You figured out I'm not pregnant because I've stopped consuming caffeine?" Chiie's voice was disbelieving.
"…I've also noticed you've gained a little weight."
Chiie blinked. "Fantastic."
"For the amount of exercise you do, one might think that you'd show immediately, but Yoshida told me that the exact opposite could be true, and that even tiny women can barely show." Hajime smoothly glossed over the fact he'd mentioned her weight.
"Do you think anyone else knows?" Chiie tried unsuccessfully to avoid eye contact; this didn't really work as he was fairly close in height to her, moreso than any other man she was close to.
"It's not like I feel inclined to tell the less perceptive about clandestine pregnancies," Hajime reassured her. "It's just…you have to be careful who finds out."
"What do you mean?" Chiie didn't like the underlying tension on Hajime's voice.
There was no point beating around the bush. "Kotabe Nori is in Snow Country."
"…He killed your parents."
"And my brothers, two of the three famed Sabo triplets," he finished in clipped tones.
"I'm sorry," Chiie whispered, putting a hand on his arm.
"Well, he's also killed Kenji's mother, the former Raikage of Lightning Country, my baby sister, Rikichi's father, and is responsible for dozens of other murders in the past decade in some form or another, so it's not like I have exclusive rights to bitch."
Chiie recognized the anger there – Hajime had turned down an offer to work for Nori and had seen his parents, two brothers, and younger sister die as a punishment. His blue eyes softened when he looked at her. Hajime appreciated the sympathy, he really did, but years later, it didn't touch him anymore, not at all.
"It was a long time ago," Hajime exhaled sharply.
"Why is he here?"
"Looking for Yoshida's prized Key, undoubtedly."
Chiie frowned. "But Yoshida's dead…the Key won't work."
"Um…" Chiie had the unique experience of seeing Hajime at a loss for words. The younger boy (no, man, Chiie reminded herself, because at sixteen, he was more mature than anyone else she'd known at that age, even older) shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk purposefully away, leaving a very curious and very frustrated redhead behind him.
"Yeah…" Chiie prompted when Hajime did not continue, her shorter legs struggling to keep up with Hajime's furious pace. She nearly collided with him when he stopped abruptly, turning to face her. Before she could recover herself, she could barely believe the words he had hesitated so strongly against uttering.
"You see…Yoshida isn't technically dead…"
-O-
Author's Notes: Very rough, but I wanted to get it out there. Next chapter is started. I tried rewriting this several times, but I'm still not sure. The next chapter will be fun, I promise. Some very familiar faces will be making a reappearance!