Chapter 27 - The Empire Strikes: Glory to the Empire!
"You left the hospital in the middle of night. ...Are you stupid? Are you really that stupid?!"
Shiki's ranting could be heard throughout the entire first floor of the hospital, and yet, the person who she was barking at showed her the least attention.
Khaori gazed out of her window, not giving Shiki so much as a single piece of mind.
"What's the point of even putting you in the room if you're going to saunter out whenever you feel like it?!"
"Uh... Excuse me, Miss Shiki." A nervous nurse approached her. "You're being a little too loud, and the other patients are-"
One look was all it took for the nurse to clam up. As pale as she looked, she should have been the one in a hospital bed.
"Alright, alright. Don't you think you've yelled at enough nurses for one morning, Shiki?" Taro asked while entering the room.
"Why are you here, Taro? Shouldn't you be with the chief?"
"Did that really just come from you? When the chief heard about Khaori's little late night stroll, he sent me to the hospital to fetch you."
"Are you saying the chief already knew I was going to be here?"
"Of course. You're really predictable, Shiki," Khaori remarked. "Boring people typically are."
How many times had Shiki shot flames from her eyes that morning? Khaori was grateful she wore glasses, otherwise the entire room would have surely been melted already.
"Nurse."
"Y-yes, Miss Shiki?"
"Have Khaori cuffed to her bed. I don't want her moving around anymore."
The nurse's face twitched. "Miss Shiki... we can't detain our patients like that. This isn't a prison or an asylum."
"Fine, don't cuff her. Use rope instead."
Taro sighed at his coworker's nonsense. However, the girl on the verge of being restrained like a mental patient showed absolutely no interest in the conversation. After two minutes of pleading and bargaining, the nurse finally got Shiki to settle for keeping two members of the staff outside her door at all times.
"...and those guys better not move from that door," she finished.
"Yes! Of course, Miss Shiki!"
The nurse nodded feveriously, relieved she managed to haggle Shiki down to a sane resolution.
"Can we finally go now? The chief is waiting for us," Taro said at the door.
Shiki gave Khaori a departing gaze as she left the room with her fellow adviser. After making sure her patient was settled in, the nurse left to assign the lookouts that would be beside her door. Khaori brushed some hair from her face.
Shiki was being noisy, Taro was being a mediator and Hitsugi was being a worrywart. It was just the same as always: a boring day filled with people who had somehow cemented themselves into her life. And snow. How could she forget about all the snow?
She looked at her door. Through the thin window, she spotted the shoulder of man standing outside.
"The lookouts had already been placed, huh?" She shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like I-"
Khaori looked back at her window, and there They were. Two of them, both wearing hooded cloaks fashioned in a style that wasn't native to any part of the Shinobi Nations. They stood on the branch of a tree, their shaded faces staring at Khaori through her window.
She gripped her sheets. It couldn't be. No, it was simply impossible for Them to be there. They shouldn't even have known this continent existed, let alone be on it.
But then, at the height of her denial, the taller of Those Two reached for his hood and pulled it down.
Khaori's eyes trembled. Why? Why was she forced to see that face again?
A gesture was made for Khaori to "Come." She stared at the Them a little while longer. The she unhinged the bolt on her window.
"Alright, are you guys ready to go?" Konohamaru asked his team while raising his scarf up to his mouth.
The four of them stood outside the hotel that morning, ready to depart for the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Ready," Sarada said adjusting her glasses.
"Ready!" Hana said while fastening up his hair.
"Ready..." Bolt murmured, staring at the snow on the ground.
Everyone focused their eyes on Bolt. It was odd for him to be so dejected; even during the morning.
Konohamaru rubbed the back of his neck. 'Must be about what we talk we had earlier. He's still hung up on it, huh?'
Sarada had reached a similar conclusion on her own. Hana looked around like a curious pup, blatantly confused by the strange atmosphere his team had been enveloped by.
As the squad walked through the Hidden Frost Village, things only got more awkward. Bolt seemed more fascinated by the clouds than even Shikadai.
"Bolt, are you alright? You seem...off," Hana asked.
Bolt glanced his way, then looked back ahead. "It's nothing."
Hana was typically worrisome sort, but he shrugged and dropped the topic. A few minutes later, when the village's gate was finally in sight, Bolt suddenly piped up.
"Oy, Hana... Did you ever finish your training last night?"
"Heh... Nope. No progress at all."
Bolt had been around Hana long enough to tell when he was forcing a smile. He stopped abruptly, causing everyone else to do the same.
He scratched his head. "Seriously, Hana... Could you be a bigger loser?"
Hana stopped as well, his face stunned by his Bolt's sudden jab. "...Huh? Bolt, what are you-"
"A loser. You didn't hear me the first time? Or do you need me to go back to momma's boy? That one's a classic.
Hana face was slowly evolving from shocked to scorned as his teammate's insults cut deeper and deeper. Konohamaru, who was watching the scene from the sidelines couldn't comprehend Bolt's behavior. Sarada, on the other hand, was getting a sudden case of deja'vu.
'This... Isn't this exactly how their first fight started back at the Ninja Academy? Bolt just blabs off at the mouth until he gets Hana riled up?"
Hana was frowning at the smiling blonde. "What have I done? What did I do to make you suddenly... suddenly..."
Bolt snorted. "What you gonna cry? Are you really that weak-"
Hana snapped, and snatched Bolt up by the collar of his cloak.
"Hey, now you two... We don't have time for this," Konohamaru warned. "We need to head back already."
For the first time since their team had been formed, Hana ignored his sensei's word, focusing all his indignation towards his blonde teammate.
"I'm not weak. ...And I'm not a loser"
"Could have fooled me."
Hana gripped the cloak tighter. "...Take it back."
"Prove me wrong."
Bolt raised a finger, and pointed it at a mountain sitting behind the village.
"Snow slide halfway down that mountain, and I take back what I said.
Sarada gawked at the mountain. It was from the biggest one in the area, but it was still huge; easily overshadowing the mound in the park that Hana was already having trouble with.
Hana peered up at his challenge, then looked back toward its giver. "Fine," he said, shocking Sarada and Konohamaru both.
"Hana, you idiot! Did you take a bad fall last night?" Sarada asked. "You'll kill yourself trying to-"
"But," Hana interrupted her. "...only on one more condition." He and Bolt stared into each other's eyes. "If I manage to master snow sliding before this afternoon... you have to buy me a two bowls of Chō Sōdaina Sōdaina Ramen from Ramen Ichiraku."
Bolt's face suddenly warped. "W-what?! Chō Sōdaina Sōdaina Ramen? I can't afford that! Pick something else!"
"No."
"Then just get one bowl..."
"No."
Bolt growled in frustration.
Sarada's eyes had dilated themselves, the mood had taken a complete heel-face turn. Craving some type of answer, she looked toward her sensei.
"Konohamaru Sensei... should I even know what Chō Sōdaina Sōdaina Ramen is?"
"Well... It's the most expensive thing on Ramen Ichiraku's menu. By far. Apparently, the owner barely sells a hundred bowls of the stuff a year. I only got to eat some when Naru-I mean... When the Seventh Hokage bought me a bowl for my birthday once."
"Why is it so expensive?"
"The ingredients are all super high-quality. Stuff that would bring tears to a top chef's eyes, let alone a ramen cook. It's definitely worth it, though." Konohamaru smiled in admiration of its taste. "Yeah... If I had the cash to burn, I'd buy a bowl everyday."
Sarada sighed. Ramen. These two were arguing about ramen now.
Bolt kept glaring kunai at Hana. "...Alright! If you can do it, I'll buy a damn bowl."
"Two bowls," Hana said holding up two fingers.
"I said fine! Let's just hurry up and-"
"Did you two not hear me when I said we had to go!" Konohamaru barked at them, finally.
The two winced at the shout then looked at their sensei with incredulous faces. After baring the brunt of his gaze, Konohamaru finally gave in to the two with sigh.
He gave a shooing gesture and said "Just be at the gate before this afternoon..."
The duo grinned and nodded before heading towards the rear entrance of the Hidden Frost.
"Are you sure about just letting them go like that?" Sarada asked, still sure she had just lost some precious brain cells.
"Yeah... I sorta expected to be Bolt's sensei at some point in the future, so I was prepared to deal with his nonsense. Hana is something I would have never accounted for, though. He and Bolt synchronize so well together, it's kind of scary. I noticed during the bell test when they were matching each other's rhythm without any exchanging any words or making any plans beforehand."
"Is that why Bolt can't stand Hana's low potential? Because they mesh together so naturally?"
"Most likely."
Sarada watched Bolt and Hana run into the streets of the Hidden Frost Village together.
Bolt wasn't the only one disappointed when he heard about Hana's low potential. Sarada never classified him as a rival like Bolt had, but she had expected more from her father's apprentice.
Her breath froze as she sighed. "Oh, well. Dad might be disappointed, though..."
Hana had suddenly found himself faced with pertinent question: were two bowls of Chō Sōdaina Sōdaina Ramen worth his life?
'...Yes, of course they are!'
Hana came to an answer quickly. But still...
The harrowing winds being blown added to the already intimidating sight before him. The slope of this mountain was significantly taller than the one in the park. It was lined with much more cliffs, and fewer trees for Hana to Windmill Step to in case he lost his footing.
"Are you gonna take all day? Get to sliding already!" Bolt commanded while patting his back.
Hana whirled his arms to quickly steady himself. While he was sighing in relief, a question cropped up in the corner of mind. One that concerned Bolt.
"Bolt... Why are you do you care so much about me learning how to snow slide, anyway?"
"Because I don't want you to hold everyone else back."
"I'm holding everyone back by not knowing how to snow slide? How many missions do you think we're going to take in the Land of Frost?"
"Who cares. Just hurry up and go."
Hana stood where he was, and kept peering over at his friend who wouldn't return his look.
"If you want to say something, you can say it, Bolt."
The blonde sighed, scratching at his head in frustration. "Does it really matter why? Just hurry up and learn, like me and Sarada did. That way... I can stop feeling so pissed off."
The brunette still couldn't understand what was going through Bolt's head.. He wanted to dig further, but an odd sight caught his attention first. They were far away, but with all the snow, they stuck out like sore thumbs. Especially the blue-haired girl who lacked a hood.
'Huh?! Why is she out here? And who are those guys?' Hana wondered.
Bolt followed Hana's eyes and caught the trio just as they walking into one of the forests on the mountain.
"Hey; you know those guys?"
"I know the girl. She's the one we saved from the fire before."
"Woah, seriously?! Shouldn't she be in a hospital?"
"Yes... She should."
Further conversation wasn't necessary. One glance into each other's eyes was all it took. Hana and Bolt nodded to each other, then slunk off to follow Khaori and the strange pair.
After trudging up the mountain behind the village, and reaching a desolate enough place, Khaori stopped. Of the two following her, the shorter one was the most perplexed by the her behavior. Firstly, by the fact that she had lead them up the mountain, and secondly, that she had done it without any shoes on.
"How are her feet not cold...?" he accidentally spoke aloud.
"Stop asking foolish question, Mitamaru. Have you forgotten what House she hails from?" said the taller, as he peeled back his hood.
The cold breeze tickled his stocky green-hair. He and Khaori exchanged gazes.
"You have grown, Master," he told her.
She sneered. "You're still calling me that? Our relationship as master and guardian ended eight years ago, Itsuya. That word is just annoying now."
"Would you rather I call you Oracle, then?"
"I'd rather you die in a fire. Preferably one that I started."
Mitamaru made an uncomfortable noise. Was this truly the esteemed young Oracle Itsuya had served almost a decade ago? Mitamaru's thoughts froze like the dew on the trees when Khaori shifted her eyes toward him.
"Itsuya... who's this guy?" she asked, pointing rudely.
Itsuya glanced at him. "Introduce yourself already."
"O-oh, yeah..." He pulled back his hood, letting his brown hair finally breath. "I'm Mitamaru Shibata. I'm the newest servant to your family."
"Oh, yeah? And who are you a guardian to?"
"Uh... No one yet, but-"
"Mitamaru's still in training. He is not yet fit for anything as important as guardianship." Mitamaru made a stony face at Itsuya who thoroughly ignored his expression. "Moving on... I'm sure you understand why we are here, Master."
"To make some bad memories resurface?"
"Ugh... I now that I'm the last person you ever wanted to see again, but right now, your life is in terrible danger, and-."
"Is that supposed to be news? I don't think I can even remember a time when my life wasn't being threatened. Not when I was still in the Empire, at least."
"Master, please! We beat the Empire's agents here by only a hair. They will catch up to us if you don't-"
Khaori sighed. "You haven't changed a bit, Itsuya. Still the King of Worries. Besides..." Khaori looked dead into his eyes. "Haven't you already failed to protect me once? And you want me to put my life in your hands again? Are you kidding me?"
Itsuya was silent in the face of Khaori's words. As was Mitamaru, who lacked the intimacy to jump into the conversation. Her naked feet leaft impressions in the snow as she walked up to them.
"Now, while this was sweet reunion and all, I really don't think I could stomach your face any longer." She waltzed between them. "Later Itsuya. Seeing you again is something I really could have lived without."
"I suppose we should have got here earlier then. Let me apologize, Oracle."
Khaori stopped. Her eyes widened with surprise as she looked up to the find the owner of the unfamiliar voice.
He stood in the trees - a dark-skinned boy with platinum blonde hair, and crimson eyes that seemed unable to do anything but intimidate. Beside him was a lighter-complexioned, but equally young youth who playfully hung from a branches by his toes.
Mitamaru's mouth gaped. "Itsuya, they're-"
Before Mitamaru even finished, Itsuya was already running toward his master. With his arms still crossed, the boy in the trees casually said "Rei."
Itsuya was barely a foot away from Khaori when a flood of florescent moths swarmed him and pushed him back.
'What?! There's a third one of them?!' he furiously thought.
"Stay back, Ikki," the boy said drawing his sword.
The playful boy beside him gave an upside-down salute, while the blonde launched from the branch. Khaori's eyes stayed on his sword.
So this was it? To think, she came all the way to another continent only to be killed by another from her homeland.
'Geez... life is so overly complicated sometimes...' Khaori thought while shutting her eyes.
She didn't attempt to dodge or defend against the blow. She figured this was as good a death she was going to get without killing herself.
'See that, Hitsugi? I told you I'd keep my promise.'
The sudden "Cling!" of steel hitting steel made her open her eyes. A familiar figure had jumped between her and her assailant, a symbol like a windmill was on his back.
"Nice guy...?" she muttered.
After blocking the dark-skinned boy's sword with his own, Hana beat him away with a swing. Sparks flew along with the boy, as he reverse-somersaulted through the air.
As soon as he hit in the snow, he shouted "Ikki!"
The dangling boy above, parted from the branch he hung from, and pounced from another like a lemur.
"I've got this!" he exclaimed in the air. "Watch out for the Company of I!"
A swarm of silhouettes, separated from the boy's body and homed in on Hana, like a faceless battalion. They were decimated, however, by barrage kunai and shurikens, thrown by a dozen Boruto Uzumakis.
'...Huh?' the boy blankly thought after his silhouettes were dissipated.
All but one Bolt poofed away into smoke. The one remaining shouted "Hana!"
"I know!"
The young ninja quickly sheathed his sword, then swept Khaori up into his arms for the third time.
"H-Hey! What are you-""
Without bothering to hear her out, Hana flickered off into the woods along with his squadmate.
"Ikki, Rei: follow them!" the crimson-eyed boy commanded.
Ikki nodded and blitzed off after Khaori and her saviors. The moths keeping back Itsuya scattered as well.
Finally free, Itsuya attempted to chase after his master and the others, but a slash sharp enough to make the air whistle forced him back.
He stared his young attacker down. "I don't have time to deal with you, boy. Now move."
"You think you're the only who's pushing for time... Itsuya Noda?"
"You know who I am, yet you still stand in my way? You're either overconfident or a fool. Either way..." Itsuya yanked up his sleeve revealing a large brand resembling a dragon. "you will be removed."
For once, the boy smiled, although the aura of intimidation around him remained. "That arrogance... Does it come from your allegiance to the House of the Sun, or your former life as a member of the House of Dragons?"
"Does it matter?"
"Hmph. No." The boy's smile disappeared, and a transparent aura started wrapping itself around the his sword. "The only thing that matters now is the Oracle's death. Everything else: You, your partner, those two who just escaped..." The boy took a thrusting stance. "It can all just disappear."
The aura swirling around the sword compressed and then burst as its owner thrust forward and yelled "Collision Air!"
A spiraling gale; one with the force a train and diameter of a boulder, piled forward towards Itsuya and Mitamaru. The pummeling gust blasted over half a kilometer through the forest before finally dispersing. Snow and forest debris rose from the road of destruction the attack had made.
The boy gazed in that direction only a moment before turning his back and dismissing it entirely.
"The glory of the Empire - that's the only thing that matters to me."