Chapter 7 - 百味 (Flavours of Life)
"if the seal is activated for punishment, it'll send electricity throughout the wearer's body, enough to cause immediate paralysis and critical injuries. The same applies if the seal is damaged."
Sumie nodded, probably a little more absent-minded than she should be in the circumstances.
Upon seeing that, the red-haired woman - Kushina - added in reassurance, "But nothing will happen when it's dormant. Other than the little sting at the moment of application, you won't even feel it."
"I see," Sumie answered just to give Kushina peace of mind. The plate of ink was set on the shelf as Kushina dipped her brush in the liquid to check for consistency. The paint was ready, all that was left was the canvas.
Even without being prompted, Sumie loosened the yukata and watched the garment fall below her shoulder in the mirror above the sink. "I'm ready," she told Kushina and the woman nodded in response.
Sumie could see the concentration in Kushina's eyes reflecting in the mirror. The care in her steady strokes spoke of the respect she had towards her work and towards the recipient of her sealing, regardless of the seal's nature.
At first, the touch of ink was cold as the brush dragged over the skin between her shoulder blades. But maybe the air had warmed the ink - or perhaps it was Sumie's skin that was being cooled - the sensation lightened until it was no more than the tickling of a feather.
That was why when the sting came as Kushina had warned, Sumie - or rather, her body - wasn't prepared.
When the last stroke was painted, a wave of current washed out of the seal above her spine, spreading to her limbs and numbing her muscles. It was like a chain reaction when her body responded instinctively by cranking up the flow of Natural Energy, which in turn, alerted what remained of Heaven's enforcement.
The sting from the seal sank into the pain caused by Heaven's discontentment. Sumie had to clench onto the rim of the sink to prevent herself from cursing out at Heaven.
Let go, Heaven. You're not here anymore to guide or reprimand me, are you? So let me go.
Kushina had long dropped her sealing tools when the black chains sprouted from Sumie's spine so unexpectedly. Immediately, she placed her fingers on the seal she had just completed, examining it to make sure that everything she painted was correct. It was, so she moved on to the jet-black chains. But before Kushina could get a better look, the thick lines faded into Sumie's skin, as if it was all an illusion.
"Sorry. It's always been with me, some sort of limiter, I think," Sumie explained. Whether Kushina believed her or not, that wasn't something Sumie could control. It wasn't like there was a lack of unexplainable things about her already.
It took Kushina a moment to accept the situation. "No need to apologize. The seal should be set." She lifted the yukata back onto Sumie's shoulder. "Sealing ink is made especially to dry faster, you know. It's also water-proof and fading-resistant."
Sumie was not blind to Kushina's gentleness, which was why it was even more awkward when she let go of the sink rim only to find a vague handprint left on the deformed metal.
Kushina looked stunned. She reached out and touched the sink as if making sure that it was indeed made of metal and not clay. The answer was affirmative, making the red-haired kunoichi turn to Sumie with astonishment.
Sumie expected many questions, all of which she couldn't give an answer to other than 'I don't know.' But to her surprise, Kushina merely shook her head, as if telling her not to worry about the damaged property.
"I have somewhat of an abnormal strength myself; you should see the face of some shinobi when I broke a tree in half," Kushina said, even raising her arm to show her - very healthy if Sumie were to say - muscles. "So you're not alone in causing accidental property damage."
Sumie couldn't help but let out a light chuckle when she heard that and that seemed to satisfy Kushina. What an interesting household, Sumie thought.
When she followed Kushina out of the bathroom and back to the dining room, she thought back to the emotion that was slowly building up the moment she stepped into Konoha. No doubt, she was … irritated.
It wasn't so much as the seal. If Sumie wanted, there were plenty of methods to destroy her current body and regenerate a new one. She doubted that a superficial seal would carry over. Rather, it was the act of being sealed again - being restrained again - that brought about the irritation.
But … chatters could already be heard from down the hall as well as the aroma of hot food. They all remind Sumie that there certainly could be worse people that tried to control her with worse methods.
To be fair, being an Enlightened One did not make Namikaze Minato more trustworthy or noble in Sumie's eyes. That title was nothing more than an attempt by some mortals - the blessed ones that were able to use the essence of Nature - to elevate themselves from the rest.
They claimed to have connected with the power of Nature and professed to follow the Path of Heaven, but their so-called 'enlightenment' did not wash out the flaws in their human nature. Those who envied others before still looked at those better than them with hatred. Those who were greedy continued to covet what didn't belong to them. And those who fed on a sense of superiority were even more relentless in stroking their pride using others' misery.
So no, having been graced by the essence of Nature provided no reference value. But it was everything else that Sumie had seen, heard, and learned about Namikaze Minato that made her curious about if and how he planned to make his words true.
"You must be hungry," Minato said as Kushina led Sumie to the dining table. Before Sumie knew it, a bowl of stew was pushed in his direction. "It tastes better when it's still hot."
Sumie had no need for human meals, but she got used to mimicking a human's routines to the point that it felt natural to her. Also … the aroma from the strew was more alluring than Sumie would admit.
Like a protest to Sumie's hesitation, the young boy gulped down the last bit of food in his bowl and set it on the table. Kakashi looked at the bowl of stew that was still steaming as if telling her that if she wouldn't eat it, he'd gladly take the second serving.
Really, Sumie thought that this little puppy-like loyalty would be cute if it wasn't so damn annoying. So, she muttered a 'thank you' and started digging in.
"While we'd like you to stay here, we have a … situation going on that makes the space here a little tight. But Kakashi has offered to let you stay in his living room." Sumie raised her head when she heard Minato saying that. Maybe it was the reflex, but she was already prepared to hear what other sharp words the boy had for her.
To her surprise, Kakashi merely nodded. There were no snarky comments, no unwilling grunts, and no glares meant to intimidate. That was when Sumie realized that the decision about how she would be watched and who would watch her was already determined, perhaps even before she made it out of the interrogation room.
Sumie wasn't sure what to expect of the young boy's house, but the cleanliness and meticulous nature of everything inside was still a surprise - especially when it was contrasted with how desolate the place was. Compared to the well-lit dining room in the Namikaze Household, this house here was left to the mercy of midnight. Even when the lone floor lamp was turned on, the dim light looked like it was struggling to make a place amidst the shadows
The boy disappeared for a moment before he dropped a bundle of rolled-up comforters in front of Sumie. The expectation was all in the silence, so Sumie rolled the beddings out and laid them down as she was told.
When Sumie looked up again, she saw Kakashi leaning on the couch that was too small for a teenager to sleep on. The boy furrowed his brows at the discomfort, the air of fatigue oozing out of his body. But clearly, he was determined to camp out here for the sake of his surveillance task. Unfortunately, Sumie might have taken his last set of beddings.
"You should just take the bed in your room. If you curl up your spine like that when you're still growing, you might stay short forever," Sumie said, her quiet voice echoing in the empty room. As usual, she didn't expect any appreciative replies.
"Just because you've got a few more years on me doesn't make you the wiser one," Kakashi snapped back and here it was, the glares of intimidation.
"Well, seeing that I won't die from fatal wounds and I'm immune from Natural Energy overdose, who knows, maybe I'm a yōkai that's been alive for a hundred years," Sumie remarked despite the look of daggers she kept on getting. In that sense, maybe she had it coming.
"Those hundred years must be shitty, if you've forgotten them so easily like they're dust."
That reply was a little too pointed than what Sumie had dealt with. It was so very quiet in the living room, so she could hear her own throat tighten up as the air got stranded in her windpipe. That was when the boy noticed too. His brows tightened into a frown as he looked the other way.
"Maybe you're right. It might not be a bad thing to cut off the past memories." Sumie finally let out a reply light-hearted enough to sweep things under the rug. She didn't exactly lose her memories, but those thousands of years of history that she experienced - along with the origin of her race and the purpose they were bestowed with - might as well not exist here.
"Really, go sleep on an actual bed," Sumie tried again. "With the seal on me, I won't dare to do anything I shouldn't."
The boy's teacher didn't expand on how exactly the seal could be activated, nor did Sumie know who could activate it. It was a smart and reasonable decision, preventing the target from countering the effects of the seal by going after the trigger.
Sumie thought that her words would once again be wasted, but just as she lowered herself onto the floor, the boy stood up from the couch and left for the inner room. He killed the lamp on his way out. Click, the light was gone.
The next morning, Sumie woke up and saw a giant dog wearing a shinobi's headband squatting in the corner.
Just to make sure, she blinked once. The dog didn't go away. In fact, now that she was a little more conscious, she realized that there were actually two dogs - a smaller pug was nested between the ears of the other canine.
"Good morning?" Sumie greeted, a little uncertain.
"Yo," the smaller pug greeted back and the bigger dog under him followed up with a cheerful bark. Oh, the deep voice reminded Sumie that it was the canine creature that reported to Kakashi by the riverbank.
"Kakashi went to the hospital, so he left us here to watch you." The pug went straight to the point, something that Sumie very much appreciated. There was a pause, as the pug took a sniff in the air. Then he added, "but it looks like Kakashi has a guest."
The pug jumped off of the other dog and walked to the door. Sumie watched with amazement as the pug unlocked the door with his paws and let the visitor in.
A brown-haired girl stood by the door, the bag of groceries next to her feet as she bent down and rubbed the pug's back with affection.
"Sorry to intrude," the girl said as she entered. The purple markings on her cheek seemed to curve gently when she gave Sumie a smile. "You might not remember me from yesterday, Sumie-san. I'm Rin."
-o-o-o-
"I don't think this is necessary," Kakashi objected with a grunt. "My ninkens got eyes on her. Or an even better solution is that I just don't go to the hospital."
Rin couldn't help but let out a snicker at that. She pushed Kakashi forward encouragingly, telling him, "No, you definitely should go to the hospital. As you said, Pakkun and Bull are there. They'll protect me, along with the Root that followed me in every shadow."
There was a pause before Rin reminded Kakashi of what they discussed yesterday. "You, Sensei, and Kushina-san won't always be staying in the village to watch her. I can help, and Sensei agreed. Besides, if Sumie-san is after a Jinchuuriki like me, then we might as well test her when all of you are in the village to respond."
Kakashi could be called to the battlefield at any moment along with Minato-sensei. Even Kushina-san, who was a Jinchuuriki, was deemed an indispensable force and was thus deployed to the frontline as needed.
Their presence on the battlefield could save the lives of Konoha-nin. In contrast, Rin wasn't a proper Jinchuuriki that could be trusted, not in the village, and certainly not on the battlefields.
In fact, Rin couldn't even consider herself a proper shinobi anymore, with the sorry state she was in. Kakashi didn't know this and Rin couldn't tell him, but whenever she tried to use chakra, it was as if a voice was speaking in her head, telling her that it was a power that she couldn't control.
Rin wanted to be a medical-nin that could heal wounds, knowing that Kakashi was always the kind to get injured and brushed it off. Yet, whenever she gathered up her chakra, wishing to heal, fear washed over her, telling her that all she could bring was destruction.
But for now, Rin pushed all those terrible thoughts down and gave Kakashi a smile. "Go. When you come back, we can eat lunch together."
Kakashi didn't look happy, but Rin's reassurance convinced him to give it a try. With a nod, her silver-haired teammate flickered in the direction of the hospital, faster than Rin could follow with her eyes.
Now that Rin was alone, the knowledge that a dozen Root agents hid nearby loomed over her. One would think that Root would pop out and stop her when she approached the house containing a suspicious stranger who had zero background, inexplicable abilities, and unclear motivations. But alas, as Minato-sensei deduced, this was one case that Elder Shimura would be happy to see.
Root wanted information on Sumie, so it really was two birds with one stone when they had two targets at the same place. Moreover, if Sumie had acted against Rin, then that was even better for Elder Shimura, who was just waiting for Minato-sensei to have a slip-up.
Sacrifices needed to be made for results, that might as well be Root's motto.
Rin took a deep breath, but before she could knock, the door already popped open by none other than the small ninken.
"You might not remember me from yesterday, Sumie-san. I'm Rin." Rin started with an introduction. She held up the bag of the grocery she got from the market and added, "I, um, brought some groceries for Kakashi-kun."
It wasn't Rin's intention, but she did feel a little bit of heat creeping up on her ears. No fair, she practiced that excuse many times on her way here, but when she actually uttered it in front of another, her heart fluttered for a beat against her will.
Rin felt a little shameless at making it sound like she did this often for Kakashi when in fact that was not the case. But at the same time, she was a little hopeful that perhaps one day, Kakashi-kun would accept more of her affections, even if it was just between friends.
The worst part? Rin felt like Sumie might have noticed her stupid feeling that seemed to have a life of its own. Regardless, the woman returned a smile to her and helped her bring the groceries inside.
As Rin organized the greens from the proteins in Kakashi's empty fridge, she watched Sumie as discreetly as possible while the latter tried to heat up some water under Pakkun's instruction.
It was hard to tell yesterday because Sumie definitely looked like she had gone through some unpleasant stuff. But now that she cleaned herself up with running water and changed into Kushina-san's borrowed clothes, Rin realized that Sumie looked a little younger than she had expected.
The woman rolled up her sleeves to wash the kettle, exposing her left arm without a single scratch on her skin. But the blood Rin saw yesterday was real, and so was the fact that she saw Sumie die in front of her under Kakashi's Chidori.
See, that was somewhat of a problem, because deep down, despite knowing barely anything about Sumie, Rin was already indebted to her.
It was because that Sumie appeared at the wrong place and wrong time that Rin was still alive. It was because of Sumie's death that Rin didn't create another memory for Kakashi that would bring him unimaginable pain and misery.
In hindsight, she should have known, because she too, experienced it when Obito laid down his life for them.
"Is it heating up?" Sumie whispered to Pakkun when the water remained silent after a few minutes. A little worried, she lifted the pot and hovered her hand over the stove. Based on her frown, she wasn't feeling any heat. "Will you little master believe me, if I tell him that I didn't break anything intentionally?"
"The appliances in this house are old. Give it a few more moments." Pakkun was a little less concerned as he slouched on the counter. Sumie heeded his words and thankfully, the water started bubbling after another five minutes, making the woman let out a sigh of relief.
"Sumie-san," Rin called out before she could stop herself. That caught the attention of both Sumie and Pakkun. "Minato-sensei wants to trust you," and so do I.
Otherwise, Minato-sensei wouldn't have allowed Rin to approach Sumie. The Root might be there as surveillance for Three-Tail, but ultimately, they had their own agenda that might not exactly align with preventing harm from coming to Rin.
"For a shinobi village, trust for the outsider is rarely spared. Countless chances had to be given to prove that the outsider isn't an enemy, but only one betrayal is needed to prove that they are. So, not many are willing to give those chances, knowing that every one of them is a decision that can be held against them." Surprisingly, Rin felt calmer as she went, knowing exactly what words she wanted to say next.
It wasn't a complicated idea. Rin knew that it was unfair to Sumie if she was dragged into this mess that she didn't invite upon herself. However, Rin just wanted to let the woman know that Minato-sensei was doing more than what most shinobi would do - would dare to do - in case she didn't know how a shinobi village worked, which she likely did not.
"Sensei hopes that you'll pass them, he really does. So if it truly is your freedom that you seek, then Minato-sensei will try to give you as many chances as it takes to prove that." Rin finished her sentence with nothing less than a crack in her voice. She covered her mouth in a moment of embarrassment, and a cup of hot water was placed in her direction.
"Be careful, it's hot," Sumie said. Rin placed her hand around the cup and indeed, the heat seeped out of the porcelain, rather helpful against the morning cold in this changing season.
"I understand," the woman continued. "I can tell your teacher is in a difficult place, with both wars on the outside and vultures hovering nearby. So rest assured, I'll do my best to regain my freedom."
For a quick second, Rin just had to make sure that the privacy seal was on in this place, because did Sumie-san just call Elder Shimura a vulture? Certainly, she didn't know that Roots were keeping guard outside, but even then, that was bold … and somehow satisfying.
"Also, I'm not ungrateful to kindness. So if your teacher ever needs my help, I'm willing to return that kindness as long as it's not against my beliefs," Sumie said as she poured herself a cup of hot water as well. "But be warned, I don't believe in your shinobi conflicts, so I doubt he'd find a situation to cash in."
Rin knew that it was just word of the mouth. Maybe her perception of Sumie was making her biased, but she couldn't help feeling like those light words were settling into something more concrete - like a contract.
Sumie paused a little as she let out a quiet laugh. "I would return the favour to … your Kakashi-kun as well, seeing that it's because of his decision that I'm not on a dissecting table. But he did blast a hole in my chest and then dragged me back to his not-so-friendly village a few days later. So I think that sort of evens it out."
Rin would admit that she barely got the second half of that speech because her face was heating up like a lightbulb before the first sentence even ended.
"He's not my … I mean, he is my teammate and friend, but …" Rin was stuttering, so to save herself from further mortification, she just stopped talking.
It was difficult for Rin to explain, not just because of her embarrassment, but because she too was trying to figure out where exactly her childhood infatuation was heading. After all, love was broader than Rin had known.
Rin loathed her own weakness in the face of Three-Tail because she realized that before anything else, she just wanted to be Kakashi's comrade in battle, a friend that he could truly rely on. That was what Obito wanted to do, she figured, and what Kakashi - what both of her teammates - deserved.
Thankfully, Sumie didn't tease her further. If anything, Rin found the surveillance mission to be more … comfortable than she'd imagined. Rather than awkward silence, Sumie asked about Konoha, all just trivial things, like the weather, the history, and even the location of the market.
Rin was careful with what she said, but Sumie never crossed the line in the first place, always keeping the topic within an acceptable boundary. Her attentiveness made Rin feel like she was actually curious, and in turn, time passed by with Rin barely feeling the boredom typical of a surveillance job.
Kakashi returned when Rin and Sumie had just finished making lunch. He gave Rin a look of inquiry when Sumie wasn't looking, and Rin nodded, unable to think of any reason that Sumie did not pass. Really, the ninken could also confirm.
The lunch was eaten in silence, ending with a message that Kakashi brought for Sumie. "We're leaving. Minato-sensei wants you to meet someone."
-o-o-o-
"That's a tavern," Sumie commented as a matter of fact. The smell of booze floating out of the entrance was quite a tell-tale sign.
"Yeah, that's the place," Kakashi confirmed in a bland voice. But Sumie caught the little twitch of his eye as if he also found the instructions to be slightly beyond reason. That only lasted for a moment before the boy let out a shrug, realizing that it wasn't really his problem.
"Just head in. You'll know who to meet." That was all Sumie heard before the young boy turned and left without another glance. Shaking her head, Sumie lifted the curtain and went in.
At first, Sumie wasn't sure what she should be looking for and nobody in the tavern gave a damn about the aimless newcomer. With no better option, Sumie walked deeper into the building, past the loud chatters and boisterous laughter, past the busy workers who tried to balance three bottles in one hand, and past the bored bartender slipping himself a cup of sake.
Finally, she felt the sign.
Sumie turned the corner and headed into a small room tucked away from the public. The bamboo door was left ajar - an invitation to those who were called. Without any hesitation, Sumie pushed open the door and let it close behind her in an unhurried motion.
"Welcome," a white-haired man said in a spirited voice, the cup of sake swirling with his hand, looking dangerously close to spilling out. "I just had to see it for myself, your connection with Natural Energy."
"The name's Jiraiya. You can say that Minato is my dear student." The man introduced himself after he gulped down the drink. Sumie didn't doubt his word, for she felt it clearly, Jiraiya was another Enlightened One who had been touched by the essence of Natural.
Or actually, Sumie should probably get used to calling them by what they were in this world, seeing that the title 'Enlightened One' was neither accurate nor did it have a positive connotation to her. Jiraiya, like Minato, was a Sage.
"Well, don't just stand there, Ojou-chan. Feel free to have a taste, it's Fire Country's famous sake. A local specialty, you can say." Jiraiya waved his hands at Sumie and then at the sake bottles piled up on the table.
Ojou-chan, hmm. Sumie wondered for a second, what would Jiraiya think, if she told him that she was probably older than fifty of him added together. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to get shy now. So she followed Jiraiya's direction and sat down on the opposite chair.
"Sumie-chan, if you don't mind me asking, what does Natural Energy feel like to you?" Jiraiya asked with nonchalance, but there was definitely a hint of curiosity mixed in.
"It's just like breathing," Sumie replied. Both the straightforwardness and the audacity in those words made the man pause in surprise. "Like how breathing is natural to all of us - an instinct that cannot be overridden - the existence of Natural Energy, both around me and inside me, also feels like instinct."
"That's frankly quite amazing. A miracle of Nature, I'd say," Jiraiya exclaimed. No doubt, the man was intrigued, but there was very little invasiveness or greed that Sumie felt from him. He was content with the pieces he heard. The rest of the knowledge, if it came, would be received all in due time.
"Then how does it work for your lineage of practitioners?" Sumie asked a question of her own. The man framed the atmosphere like a conversation - filled with booze and flimsy language, but okay - and he indeed kept the promise of reciprocity.
"I'm sure Minato explained the basics, including why you should be a stone statue by this point, so I'll get to the fun part." By Jiraiya's cheerful tone, he sounded quite happy with this topic. "Minato and I learned the existence of Natural Energy from the Sage Toads, living in their own realm called Mt. Myōboku."
"See, Sage Toads are the true masters of Senjutsu. They have lived longer than we humans can even imagine and they know Natural Energy better than anyone else," Jiraiya went on, popping open another bottle of alcohol. "There are also other Sage animals that know how to use Natural Energy, but all of us are only borrowers of something greater."
The white-haired man did not drink the sake straight away, so for once, he sounded sober. "To all those that practice Senjutsu, animals or humans, Natural Energy is sacred. So we must treat this blessing with care so as to not lose ourselves." Both physically and mentally.
"Oh geez, I made it sound so serious." The Sage took a big sip of liquid happiness and just like that, the sobriety was no more. "I'm not trying to lecture your attitudes or anything. I doubt that I'm in the place to do so when you're clearly in a different relationship with Natural Energy."
"Let's see, hmm … how about I make you an offer?" Jiraiya nodded at Sumie as he swiped an unopened bottle from the side and placed it in front of Sumie. "If you beat me in drinking, I'll take you to see the Sage Toads at Mt. Myōboku."
Sumie looked at the bottle in front of her and she truly wondered, was this a test of her physical limits, or tolerance to absurdity? It was unfortunate that she was tempted by the suggestion, but just to make sure …
"Who's paying for all the alcohol?" Sumie asked, making Jiraiya burst into laughter.
"Feeling confident, are we?" Jiraiya said amidst his laughter. "Worry not, I'll pay for all the sake, however many we drink. But just one more rule, I suppose."
The man held up a finger and Sumie waited for him to elaborate. "Something as heavenly as sake should be enjoyed in the company of fun. So let's keep the conversations flowing, shall we? I promise I'm fun to talk to."
Sumie raised an eyebrow, expressing her doubt, but before Jiraiya could protest, she opened the bottle and downed it in one go. She set the bottle down and the clear sound it made confirmed that there was no liquid left.
"You don't joke around, Ojou-chan." It only took Jiraiya a moment to recover from his falling jaw. Then, he followed up with a bottle of his own.
"But I mean it," Jiraiya said as he decided to take a pause before finishing the other half of the bottle. "I'm somewhat of a novelist. There's not a single soul in this village that's more fun to talk to than me."
"I thought you're a shinobi," Sumie replied. The second bottle was already in her hand, pressuring Jiraiya to finish his share so the game could continue.
"I am Konoha's shinobi. Always was, and always will be. Just as Minato and those kids are fighting in the current war, I fought in the previous one," Jiraiya admitted with ease. "But as of now, I'm retired from active duty. My allegiance will always be with Konoha, but that doesn't interfere with my wish to tell stories."
Jiraiya slapped another empty bottle onto the table and it toppled over and rolled to the side. The neck of the bottle pointed at Sumie as if prompting the next player.
"Consider me curious, so what kind of stories?" Sumie peeled open another bottle - the third one, the fourth one? It didn't matter as long as she kept up until the end. The aroma of the sake was starting to blend with the surroundings and lose its uniqueness.
"Oh, all sorts of them. The stories that I've seen during my travels, the stories that I've heard, and also …" Jiraiya swirled the bottle between his fingers as a glint of enthusiasm melted in his eyes. "... the stories that I believe in."
It was around the sixth bottle that Jiraiya was finally hit by the flood known as sake.
Sumie told him about the times she spent in Haru's village, as requested by the man. Jiraiya listened quietly even if Sumie only had trivial things to tell, like the ample amount of mugworts that they collected daily because that herb always seemed to run out.
Another bottle was poured down Sumie's throat and she didn't even flinch. Jiraiya, on the other hand, fumbled with his fingers as he tried to pull something out of his saddle. The alcohol clearly drowned some of his dexterity, but Sumie waited in patience until the man pulled out a pocket-size paperback and pushed it in her direction.
"Didn't you ask me what kind of stories I write?" Yes, but that was two bottles ago. "Let me give you a copy of my greatest work yet, signed by the author himself!" Jiraiya was going to look for a pen, but Sumie highly doubted that he'd be able to find one in a short time.
Instead, Sumie stopped his endeavour by pushing a new bottle in his direction. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, criticizing her impatience. Sumie merely shrugged and Jiraiya started the bottle with a chuckle.
Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, Sumie read on the front cover. Sounds like a hero movie, she thought. "What's the premise?"
"Oh, as its name suggests, it's the adventure of a young shinobi who dreamed of being a hero," Jiraiya answered, a certain fondness leaked out of his breath along with the pungent smell of alcohol.
"He trains as he grows up, wins against the enemies, but also learns the weight of fighting. So, his dream changes, from becoming a hero in the shinobi world, to breaking its curse - one made of conflicts, hatreds, and revenge that run in cycles - so that the shinobi world never needs a hero again."
At that point, Sumie couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I asked for the premise. You just told me the whole plot."
"Haha, sorry about that, hope it didn't kill your interest. I guess I'm quite invested in my work." Jiraiya laughed at the volume of thunder. His voice grew a little softer as he added, "It's inspired by a kind boy that I've met before."
The man was looking at her expectantly, clearly waiting for some kind of commentary. Sumie tried to avoid it by drinking another bottle, but the white-haired man was quite hard to ignore. So with a sigh, she relented. "To be honest, it sounds a little cliché, and …"
"Unrealistic?" Jiraiya supplied the word that Sumie was thinking. "Ojou-chan, if even you - someone who only learned about the shinobi wars a few days ago - thought so, then it must sound like a wild dream to most shinobi."
With lightheartedness, Jiraiya told her, "It's indeed quite realistic and one can say, naive, given what our shinobi knew of the world. Probably why the novel kind of flopped. Hey, no shame in admitting the shortcomings in my composition."
Jiraiya swallowed the last mouthful of sake and pushed the bottle to the side. "But as I said, I want to write about the stories I believe in. They say the start of making a dream come true is to realize that it's possible. Books and stories, as I've gathered, are best for spreading the word."
Sumie rubbed the book cover with her thumb and ran her fingers through the pages inside. It was far from a pristine, new copy, full of scratches that spoke of its rough handling. Sumie figured that it was probably a copy that Jiraiya bought for himself, perhaps as a keepsake, or maybe as a desperate attempt to save the sales.
But either way, Sumie tucked it into her pocket. She would read it sometimes. It wasn't like she had better things to do while she was stuck in Konoha under indefinite probation.
"Any plans for future work, Jiraiya-san?" Sumie asked and it was like she opened a dam that she didn't mean to.
"Oh, I'm thinking of a change of scenery with something a little more mainstream … What, an author's gotta pay for his drinks. Recently, Romance really speaks to me. People really don't give enough credit to the subtlety of love … hmm, maybe it needs a little spice, you know …" Sumie pretended that she was too busy drinking to engage in any brainstorming that ventured too far from the PG rating.
By the fifteenth bottle, Jiraiya was probably seeing doubles of everything.
"Shhh, slow down," Jiraiya complained. His words slurred as he tried to convince Sumie to put her newest bottle down. "You're not savouring the taste as you should. What a waste of fine sake!" Letting out a sigh, Sumie switched to small sips and Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction.
With shaky hands, Jiraiya opened another bottle with some difficulty. "Say, Sumie-chan, what will you do after you're free from Konoha; free from the shinobi conflicts as you've wished?"
What will I do? Sumie didn't think it was the alcohol, but she nevertheless had trouble thinking of an answer.
Right now, Sumie couldn't possibly think of a way where she would be able to fit into this world - not just amongst the humans, but in this world as a whole. For a creature that relied on the energy of Nature, it was clear that she was an accident that happened outside of its natural cycle. Where would she go? How should she act, to make sure that this Nature was not perturbed by her intrusive existence?
Unfortunately, Jiraiya's intuition remained sharp even if he was as drunk as a pile of mush. He caught the pause as well as the lingering uncertainty that spoke of her aimless future.
"I think …" Jiraiya started and with the way he struggled to come up with his words, it was not very convincing. "I think … You'll like stories. Just like savouring the taste of sake, perhaps you'd enjoy savouring the stories you've heard, the sight you've seen."
To Sumie's surprise, Jiraiya threw his hand out all of a sudden and asked, "Do you hear them?"
With their room quieting down, a different mixture of sounds was starting to become audible through the walls. Sumie heard the rowdy arguments between two men, flaunting how lovely their newborn babies were, each one trying to one-up the other.
There was another one that was sobbing. He was pouring his gut out to the bartender about how he just met the love of his life while he travelled with his merchant caravan. The love lasted for a day before he had to leave with his master without ever talking to the girl.
Sumie could also hear the shy chatters between the servers. The boy was asking the girl if she'd like to go to lunch with him the next time they were off from work. There was a few seconds of silence before the girl accepted the invitation with timidness in her voice …
"See, sake has … stories, a different favour for a different cup, and this is … this is only one tavern out of all the, umm, taverns in the world." Jiraiya was very adamant about finishing his words despite the slurring that kept interrupting him. Sumie wasn't really sure how sake got involved in all of this, but she did understand his point. Kind of.
By the eighteenth bottle, Sumie was the last one standing.
Quietly, she finished the last bit of the liquid lingering at the bottom, wondering if Jiraiya would remember his promise to take her to the Sage Toads, or even the promise to pay for the mountain of sake bottles here, for that matter.
It was then that she noticed a tiny noise coming from the bottom of the desk. Sumie bent down and found, to her confusion, a small toad, giving off an air of awkwardness at being caught. Sumie raised an eyebrow as the toad squealed rather weakly.
"Jiraiya's toad?" She asked and the small toad nodded. Perfect, then it must know Namikaze. "Do me a favour and get Namikaze-san here, won't you?"
Minato arrived about ten minutes later and was immediately rendered speechless by the trophy of empty bottles stacked on the table.
"Your teacher said he'll pay," Sumie nodded at the white-haired Sage who lay unconscious by the table. "But I don't think he'll be able to do that now."
"Ah, yes, I'll pay for all of the drinks," Minato reassured her, before sliding his wasted teacher onto his shoulder. "Do you remember your way back? Should I get Kakashi to lead the way?"
Sumie nodded once, then shook her head. Somehow, Minato deciphered the meaning and bid her goodbye while carrying Jiraiya out of the door. Sumie was surprised that he allowed her to walk around the village unwatched, but as the toad reminded her, maybe she wasn't as unsupervised as she thought.
The boy who was assigned to clean up after them was shaken by the sight in front of him. His jaw fell open when he made sense of the thirty-some sake bottles, all empty and finished. Then, his pupils trembled when he saw Sumie still standing, barely feeling any effect.
Savouring the stories, is that right? If Sumie couldn't quite figure out where she'd fit in this world where she had no history, then maybe being an observer would chase away the boredom in the meantime.
It was kind of a spur of the moment when Sumie passed by the main hall and saw the commotion. "Come on, Chizuru-chan, just have a drink with me." She heard a customer saying to a waitress who was unfortunate enough to be nearby.
The girl looked flustered as she stuttered to refuse. Sadly, it was always hard to reason with the drunk. In that sense, Jiraiya was above average.
The bartender - also the bar owner, as Jiraiya let it slip during their chat - rolled his eyes in annoyance. He threw his wiping cloth onto the counter, ready to storm out, but Sumie was a little faster.
"Watch out, Mister, it's about to fall." Sumie swiped the porcelain cup that was hanging dangerously by the edge of the table and pushed it in the customer's direction. Already disoriented by the sudden topic change, he took the cup from Sumie under her encouraging smile.
"Looks like your bottle is empty, why don't you let …" Sumie paused a little as she remembered the girl's name "... Chizuru put in another order for you?" The man was too confused and too occupied with his drink to reply with anything but a hum. Sumie took that as a yes and led the young girl away.
The girl gave her a deep bow in gratitude before she disappeared into the back room. Sumie, on the other hand, walked towards the bar. Perhaps the copious amount of alcohol enough to drown a person was not without its effect on Sumie.
"Are you hiring helpers?" She asked the bar owner, who looked amused at her audacity.
"Not usually, but …" The man did a double take on Sumie before he added, "when can you start?"
-o-o-o-
"Now, Jiraiya-sensei, where exactly are you staying in the village?" Minato muttered to himself, not really expecting an answer given how drunk his teacher was. So, it really felt like a ghost story, when he heard a response. "Just off to the left, three streets away. The inn has an onsen."
"Sensei, you're not wasted," Minato commented as he let go of Jiraiya. With the nimble way his teacher landed on the rooftop, albeit with a slight fumble, he was definitely not as wasted as he acted to be.
"Ha, your old man still got a few tricks up his sleeves. It looks like Sumie-chan doesn't know that alcohol can be purged with chakra." Jiraiya-sensei looked quite proud of his skill in acting like a drunkard. "Shall we take it back to the inn?"
"Sensei, what do you think?" Minato asked as soon as Jiraiya turned on the privacy seal. The signs of intoxication were already gone from Jiraiya's face and the sobriety always made him look a little more serious.
"If it's as Sumie-chan said, that using Natural Energy is like breathing to her, then she really shouldn't be involved in our shinobi war, for her sake, and for ours," Jiraiya answered while letting out a sigh.
"Nobody can be sure of how powerful Natural Energy can be when it's not limited by constraints that come with its usage. Introducing a weapon like that in our wars will only spur new ones revolving around it."
Minato nodded in agreement. He had the same idea and it was being solidified with every passing second as they knew more about this mysterious woman.
"I think it's sound, your idea of putting her in my spy network first to fade out her connection with Konoha, before letting her go," Jiraiya said after some thought.
Minato didn't just ask Jiraiya-sensei to return to assess Sumie's connection with Natural Energy. As long as she passed the safety check, Minato considered putting her under Jiraiya's wings as one of his informants that was being spread around the countries.
Other than the one hit-wonder outside of Sumie's old village, nobody knew of Sumie's skill in combat against skilled shinobi - maybe except Minato's poor sink, one could argue - so it was reasonable to put her in a non-combat role that could capitalize on her undetectable chakra signature.
Furthermore, Jiraiya's informants reported to him, before he consolidated the information and passed it back to Konoha. This anonymity meant that no one could question if Sumie was still performing her job under Jiraiya's control when there were no credits given.
"As long as you're sure of her intention, then we can get that started." Jiraiya-sensei paused a little before he let out a chuckle. "She sounded like the kind that likes stories; maybe she'll enjoy travelling the world - wherever the wind blows - as I did."
Now that part was settled, they moved on to more shinobi-specific problems.
"Kushina and I will return to the Konoha-Kuno battlefront soon, likely Kakashi too. Given the recent war decision, we need all the combat power we have," Minato said and his teacher nodded, not at all surprised.
To them, the outcome at that particular Konoha-Kumo battlefield was quite clear. If Konoha let things stall as they had been, they were unlikely to win against Kumo.
Kumo had the advantage in a battle of persistence. Overall, they had more supplies and more healthy soldiers, having been through fewer losses when the war first started between Iwa, Suna, and Konoha.
At its core, the war between shinobi villages was to fight for no other than mundane reasons such as resources, economy, and influence. Things like revenge, retribution, and hatred were the byproducts that eventually grew into a life of their own.
The region fought over by the Konoha-Kumo battlefront was a land rich in ores and buzzing with trading routes. If Konoha lost the stronghold there, then Kumo would more or less win the prize that this war revolved around. It also subjected Konoha to the risk of being invaded further, for it would have struggled to reform another battlefront should Kumo decide to march deeper.
So, Konoha decided to crank up the strength of their assault before Kumo could drag out the battle. Basically, to defend by attacking with all they got, in the hope of breaking Kumo's foothold there once and for all.
Whatever happened at this Konoha-Kumo battlefront could spell the end of the war, but it was the victor that would get the say.
"Will you stay in the village in our absence, Jiraiya-sensei, to watch over Rin and Sumie?" Minato asked and the Sannin nodded without any hesitation.
"Of course, that's why I came back," Jiraiya replied as he tapped his finger on the table. A frown appeared on his face soon after, as he reminded Minato, "I've been trying to gather information on the mysterious group of shinobi that attacked the civilian village. Unfortunately, my network found nothing. As your boy suggested, they are very good and highly secretive."
"Not even any hints from Kiri?" Minato asked. Given everything, Kiri was the most likely culprit. But Jiraiya merely shook his head.
"I snuck in to check for myself, but I heard nothing of sorts. If Kiri is behind this, then it must be a plan only known to their highest power." Jiraiya's hand went for the sake bottle always hanging on his belt, before he realized that the bottle was already gone in the tavern.
He clicked his tongue in displeasure but nevertheless continued. "Although, Kiri is under a lot of turmoil recently. There was dissatisfaction towards the Sandaime Mizukage, from both the Water Daimyō and their shinobi. It was the Mizukage's plan to use the Three-Tail to avert the fate of losing to Konoha, but its failure damaged the trust of his people greatly."
Sandaime Mizukage, Suigen, was the kind that always had a mixture of boldness and vindictiveness in him. He was the kind that wanted to take someone down with him even as he died. In his younger years, that worked quite well for him to rise to the Kage seat. But in the situation of a war, that did not bode well for both his people and his enemy.
"I'll be vigilant, Sensei," Minato promised. If those shinobi were indeed sent by the Mizukage, then they were unlikely to return empty-handed. Any silence in activity was merely the calm before a storm could be stirred up.
"And I'll watch out for Rin-chan at this end," Jiraiya followed up quickly, finishing the last bit of their discussion.
The morning after, Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and much of Konoha's battle-capable force were deployed to the Fire-Thunder border. Unlike the defensive stance from before, their order this time was to push through the frontline and destroy Kumo's stronghold before they destroyed Konoha's.
Merely a day after the battle commenced, one of Konoha's supply routes to the Fire-Thunder border - a major one, at that - was attacked by a group of shinobi highly suspected to be Kiri-nin using guerilla warfare.
That tipped the scales of the active battle, but not in favour of Konoha.
A/N: Happy holidays! We're almost at the climax of Arc 1 here with stuff soon to be exploding both inside and outside of the village (I'll let you guess if that's metaphorical or not).
I'm just filling in the blanks here about the Third Shinobi War. I thought it was more likely that Yagura became a Jinchuuriki and the Mizukage after the war, so the Sandaime Mizukage, whose name I made up, was still in charge of Kirigakure.
Also, just a word of caution against binge drinking. Please do that drink 18 bottles of sake in one go. Jiraiya has the protection of chakra and Sumie is literally not a human. So, not recommended for us mortals.