12. More on Lilyi
"You should die." Naruto told him.
"I love you, too." Yuki replied, not bothering to look up from his book of physics that Sakura had lent him for a little light reading.
Naruto hated baby-sitting for Yuki and Christo. That is all you need to know.
Christo was flipping through his book of baby names. "If I have a daughter, I'm gonna name her Mai. Mai Uchiha. Uchiha Mai. Sounds good, Yuki?"
"I don't mind having a niece name Mai." Yuki said. He closed his book, finished with the last chapter.
"Whyare you picking out your children's names already?" Naruto asked. Christo had already picked out his three sons' names, Sasuke, Christopher, and Forest.
"If I die early, I will die knowing the satisfaction of having picked out the names of my potential children." Christo snapped. He threw the book aside and yawned. "I'm bored."
Naruto wished for the millionth time that the tent was bigger. Then he'd have more space to distance himself from the brats. Yuki and Christo shared a tent, as did he and Kakashi. Sakura had her own. So did Sai. As for Sasuke, he wasn't around much.
Yuki was now attempting to a Rubik's Cube. That boy was really smart.
"Hey." Sai entered the already crammed tent. "Wassup?"
"NO!" Naruto, Yuki, and Christo shouted in unison before he could get another word in. Then Naruto realized he had said the same thing at the same time as Yuki and Christo, and vice versa, so they became furious.
"Jeez, I was just wondering." Sai griped.
"We do NOT wanna have bonding time, thank you very much." Yuki snapped. He was in a bad mood. His Rubric's Cube was all finished, except for one tiny spot of blue in red.
Sai sighed. These people were so unenthusiastic about friendships! And wasn't it Naruto who had given him the whole speech about "bonds?" All he was trying to do was bring everyone closer together! But nobody appreciated it! Oh well, he would have to try harder.
"Go away." Yuki said, redoing his Rubik's cube again.
"Why don't we all go out for a walk?" Sai suggested. "Then we can talk about -"
"No." Naruto said instantly.
"No." Christo replied the same time as Naruto.
"NO!" Yuki shouted, gritting his teeth, his full concentration on the impossible puzzle before him.
Then someone else came in.
"Hey, you can stop babysitting now. Kakashi-sensei and I are back now." Sakura said, barely managing to squeeze into the tent. She surveyed the room and tossed back her pink hair. "Oh, hi Sai! Whatcha doing here?"
Unfortunately, Sakura looked at Naruto, Yuki, and Christo's warining (a slashing motion across the neck) too late.
"Attempting to mend the broken bonds between Naruto and Yuki and Christo." Sai said. "It is rather difficult."
"I wonder why." Sakura said. She wanted to get out now. No sense in staying in a tent full of boys. Especially one frustrated blonde one, another smart one doing a hard puzzle, another bored to death, and the last one clueless. "I'm outta here."
As Sakura was about to get out, someone else came in, blocking the doorway. Kakashi had somehow entered the tent, which now held a grand total of six, while it was only meant for two.
"Yo." Kakashi said and gave a small wave of his hand.
"Get out." Christo snapped, clearly in a bad mood, just like pretty much everyone else in the tent. "Can't you see we're busy?"
Definitely not a good scene to intrude. Five cranky youngsters, three of them angsting adolescents, the other two being two impossible brats.
"Why're you here?" Naruto asked in a semi-polite voice.
"Sai invited me for a walk and went to invite the rest of you, too." Kakashi groaned. The only reason he had accepted Sai's invitation for a "bonding walk with everyone" was because he had to get rid of the boy. "I came to check up on the rest of you since he was taking way too long."
"It's claustrophobic in here!" Yuki whined. "At least two people, get out now!"
Nobody liked Yuki in full out angry mode. So Kakashi and Sakura, who were closest to the doorway, scrambled to get out.
BAM!
"Ow!"
"Ow!"
"Ouch."
"Watch where you're going!"
"Watch where you're going!"
"Sakura?"
"Sasuke?"
"Everyone seems to have forgotten about me." Kakashi sighed mournfully. "Alas, since I'm not at the epitome of youth anymore, people rarely pay attention to me."
Naruto threw Yuki's pillow at Kakashi. "Quit your angsting."
"How are we all fitting in here?" Sakura asked. She was uncomfortably close to Sasuke, whom she and Naruto and Kakashi had carefully avoided talking to and talking about. "It's so crowded in here!"
"Uncle!" Christo bellowed and waved at Sasuke, which was nearly impossible given the little space they had left.
But Christo and Yuki's uncle was a little preoccupied, being wedged next to Sakura was not pleasant. So he wiggled slowly and carefully out more toward his two young nephews.
"Better." Sasuke gave a rare almost smile of relief.
"NO! NOT BETTER!" Naruto shouted. "YOU'RE STEPPING ON MY TOE!"
"I'm so sorry." Sasuke said sarcastically. "Now shut it."
"No, you shut it."
"No, you shu-"
"Okay, now! We're all in here! Let's get out!" Sakura hastily interrupted. If this little argument was like any of Naruto and Sasuke's past fights, it would be long and boring and repetitive.
"Fine. I'll go out first." Kakashi said and tried to make his way out, but tripped over Sakura's foot. "Ow. Never mind. You go first, Sakura."
Naruto banged his head in frustration against the wall. But it was harmless cloth and didn't do anything to his brain cells or comfort him, for that matter.
But then, the world seemed to suddenly and violently tilt.
Wait a minute. This was a tent. On top of a steep hill. Naruto had just banged his head on the wall, and that little action combined with all the weight and the heavy wind caused the tent to (you guessed it) fall.
"IDIOT!" Yuki, Christo, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi all screamed as they tumbled down the hill. It was rather painful.
When they finally got down to the bottom, all was quiet for a long time.
Suddenly, Yuki said, "I hate you, Naruto."
"Shut up. Just shut up."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Jongo was thinking of his mother.
Her name was Lilyi. She was the youngest child and only daughter of the brother to the head of the clan. All her life, she had known a world full of stiff smiles and rare privileges. Her two older brothers were always too busy bickering over the inheritance, her father always had to help the head of the clan, and her mother was too caught up in her social life to really care. The rest of her family members were snobby and arrogant.
Lilyi spent her young childhood alone, without any real friends. She was obedient, quiet, meek, and respectful. In other words, a total pushover. But deep inside, she hid her feelings. She wanted to be needed and loved. She grew slowly, and finally reached the age of fifteen.
Then he came.
It was a total coincidence they met in the first place. Lilyi was by herself, as usual. She was staring mournfully out the window, thinking of a life she never had. She saw him enter the section of the village dedicated to her clan.
Lilyi was mesmerized by the stranger. She watched him enter the main house. Her eyes were glued to the door of the main house for about an hour, which was when he left. But she decided he was nobody in particular, and tried to forget him.
He came back the next day. And the day after that. So on the next day, she finally plucked up the courage to approach him.
His name was Itachi. They gradually got to know each other.
Jongo was born about nine months later. The entire clan was furious. The niece of the head of the clan had ruined her reputation (and partly theirs) by having a bastard son Lilyi's father yelled at her and beat her, her mother simply pretended she never existed, and her brothers were very careful to treat her coldly. For a while, there was talk about disowning her. But the girl stayed.
Lilyi never hated her clan more as her little Jongo was growing up. She knew that behind her back, they called Jongo "Lilyi's bastard child." Jongo brought out a protective instinct inside of Lilyi. And she started truly despising her family for the way they treated her only child.
When Jongo turned four, Itachi came for another secret visit. He talked to Lilyi for a long time. Jongo had been awake the whole night, troubled because sometimes it sounded as if they argued. Then he went out of the house. Jongo remembered the night vividly because he could hear screaming, the screaming of his family. His grandfather, grandmother, uncles, and cousins, etc. Then the screaming eventually stopped entirely.
When Itachi came back, he had a bloody kunai.
Lilyi accepted her death, obedient to the very end. She had a smile on her lips. Ever since Jongo saw that, he could never, ever bring himself to hurt anyone.
The others talked about their moms occasionally. Yuri's mom, Nani, seemed like a vibrant, caring mother. Yuki's was Kisa, who seemed to have to scrape the bottom of the pot to support herself and her son. Christo and his own mother, Kagura, came from a big family, although most of them were ordinary civilians. Jooyeon never directly mentioned her mother. Despite his dislike of Jooyeon, Jongo felt a little pity for his half-sister who never even one decent parent. No wonder she was starved for affection.
"Hey, Jongo?" the tiny whisper made Jongo jump in surprise.
"Yeah?" Jongo turned over to face Yuri. "What is it?"
"Have you thought about it? Do you want to try to escape again?" his half-sister said. It was the first thing she had said in days. Maybe even weeks. But it was the first thing Jongo had ever heard her say in his life.
Yuri had never ever spoken before. Ever. She was mute, ever since the death of her own mother. She had a nice way of smiling, and had a great way of displaying an angry face, but she never uttered a word. Jongo had accepted that she would never speak. Sometimes though, he would curiously wonder how her voice sounded like.
It sounded a little wistful. Like Lilyi's.
"Are you mad at me?" Yuri asked childishly.
Jongo sucked in his breath. It was rare to have Yuri have a moment of weakness, no matter how short. But right now, with her eyes even bigger and rounder than usual and her face looking incredibly innocent, Jongo thought that maybe this was the way most four-year-olds acted.
"No." Jongo said. He glanced over at Jooyeon and Ann, even though he already knew they had been sleeping for the past two hours or so. Jooyeon said something in her sleep and turned over occasionally, but that was it. (Yes, Jooyeon talks in her sleep.) "I'm not angry at all."
Yuri nodded. "Good. Then we can go."
This time, her voice changed. It became stronger, slightly louder, and huskier. Jongo was half mesmerized. This was the first time he had ever heard his favorite sister talk. (Not that he had many choices. It was just Yuri and Jooyeon. And probably Ann, although he didn't know it yet.)
"Go where?" Jongo asked even though he already knew.
Yuri rolled her eyes. "You know. Out. And we'll take Ann with us."
"No." Jongo replied instantly. "Too risky. Too dangerous."
Jongo felt shame as he felt disgust radiate out of Yuri. Oh great, now his current ally was starting to hate him. But that couldn't be helped. Jongo remembered the family motto was, "Better a live dog than a dead lion." Or something to that effect. His mother believed in it, so did his uncles and grandparents and cousins and everyone else distantly related to the wealthy family.
"Fine. But me and Ann are eventually breaking out of here." Yuri snapped. She got another one of her stubborn looks on her face. "Whether you like it or not. I just have to get stronger and think of a good plan. All I need is more time."
Yuri turned over so that her back was to Jongo, and she promptly fell asleep.
I'm a coward. I'm a no good, weak coward. Jongo thought. Well, he wasn't anymore! It was time to leave. He would show Yuri he wasn't cowardly!
Jongo sucked in his breath, closed his eyes, and then shakily stood up. His sisters and Ann her still sleeping, although Yuri fidgeted a little, and Jooyeon mumbled something in her sleep. But that was about it.
Jongo's heart was thudding like crazy, he felt sweaty, and every cautious step sounded loud to him. Damn, he had to stop being so nervous.
He opened the door. Creak. The sound was so "loud" it made him jump.
Jongo carefully closed the door and tiptoed down the hall. He carefully peeked over his shoulder. Nobody. He was free! He was free! He was free! He was-
Bam.
Jongo froze. He didn't dare look up. He already knew who the person he had bumped into. It was Itachi.
Jongo immediately started cursing himself for not being stealthy enough. And the "escape plan" had been completely stupid. He was stupid, stupid, stupid. And not to mention he had self-esteem issues.
"Where are you going?" Itachi asked.
Jongo was too scared to answer, so he just shook his head.
"Come with me." Jongo felt himself being lifted up by the shirt. He made no effort to struggle or protest. If he did, no good would come out of it. Itachi lifted up high in the air, and the next thing he knew, everything turned black.
Jongo was pretty sure his father knocked him out by hitting him against the wall, because when he came around, his head hurt like hell.
Itachi was gone. He was alone.
This may have seemed perfect except that Jongo was in a padded room with a straitjacket. Great, just great.
Now he was rendered completely helpless, and Yuri and Ann probably didn't know where he was. And who knew what might happen if Father came back?
Life just sucked.
About Yuki's cube thing. Is it called a Rubik's cube or a Rubric's cube? Or something else entirely? I can't remember!
Yes, you find out more Jongo and his own history, despite the fact that he's the last sibling shown. You'll find out more about the rest later.
If anyone reads the Fruits Basket manga, Yuki's mom, Kisa, and Christo's mom, Kagura, are also the names of characters from there. So that's three character names, Yuki, Kisa, and Kagura, from Fruits Basket.
In the next chapter, Naruto and Co. will finally reach Akatsuki base. :)