Scarlet Justice - ep. 22
"Interval"
We reach the assignment desk again. Debriefing is simple, taken care of by Kurenai. She makes mention of the bandit problem, and our performances during the encounter.
"Fuukudou Heavy," the Hokage says. He puffs on his pipe in thought. "They've been causing trouble for a while now. The Sand has been given notice already about them, so they'll send a scroll with information our way soon for investigation purposes. And I'll have someone in administration make mention of this to JPC..." He looks to me. "Ah, yes. Lili...we should meet later this week in my office. Whenever you have time, just let one of the secretaries know once you come in."
"Understood, Lord Hokage." Another higher-up looking to talk to me. I wonder what's happening all of a sudden...recent news couldn't have spread this quickly, so perhaps it's going back to my Academy days?
"There was also a bird with a message for you all, sent by the gentleman who made the mission request. He sends his thanks, and has increased the mission pay for your hard work. Aside from positive general comments...he's also invited you four to a wedding in a year's time."
"Wedding?" Kurenai asks. "Well, that's interesting. Guess he was ready to settle down from the start. Have to wonder who he's marrying..."
"His long time assistant...a woman by the name of Airi."
I had a feeling, but wasn't entirely sure...no wonder she was so comfortable around him. "Hm. So that Airi was a fox after all," I say.
"I didn't think that she and Zen would ever marry," Shino mumbles. Well, paying attention to bugs and not being able to read the mood would make this a shock to him.
"They make a cute pair," Hina chimes in. Of course, she would notice. "Will...we be going?"
"If we're in good health, we won't miss it. Ah, if that's okay, Lord Hokage," Kurenai says.
He chuckles at that. "I'll put it on reserve for you. A D-Rank mission, once the details arrive. Fair?"
"Fair," we all respond in unison. A wedding sounds beautiful. I can't wait.
We complete our debriefing, collect our payment through small scrolls, and are dismissed. Kurenai slips away to a bar as mentioned before, and Shino heads towards home. Hina gives me a warm hug before meeting up with the Hyuuga that's posted outside of the building. They travel back to the compound together.
"..." I think about it for a moment before leaving. She should be strong enough to withstand further abuse, now that I've helped her. Soon enough, she will break her chains completely. I know it to be true.
I head home and shower before getting into something casual. A blue sundress and some slippers will do. I make sure my clothing is put into the wash basket, and clean my armband properly by hand. Once it's dry, I put it back on my upper right arm, and strap a small weapon holster to my leg. It holds my money and the knife that Midori gave me, just in case.
"Miss Lilith! You're home!"
"Luna." I head to the front door as she closes it. She spots me and runs over, hugging me tightly.
"Oh, Miss Lilith. I'm so glad to see you again. You're safe. Lady Midoriko told me that you met in the desert."
"Luna...she must have told you, and I..."
She places a finger on my lips. "I know. She told me everything. What I worry about is...you two getting a little too into your hobby, enough so that I might have to scold you. Perhaps I can keep a spray bottle on hand for naughty snake girls. But...let me put your mind at ease. There's nothing that could make me think less of you. Not even this." She lifts her finger and smiles at me.
"Luna...you're really trying to settle it, just like that."
"You shouldn't have expected anything else. You are my everything, Miss Lilith. No matter what you might be, or become, I will be by your side. I will love you always. And I don't expect anything else but for you to grow into a magnificent warrior. My heart is cleared of any fear. And I have no hesitation within me. I will serve you until my very last breath, because that is what I want. I promise...and nothing you say or do can change that."
"Even if I..."
"Even down a path stained with blood...even down one that leads into an all-consuming darkness. I will follow you, Miss Lilith."
"I don't deserve you, Luna." I really don't. Nobody does. Someone so devoted has to be a treasure from heaven itself. I truly am spoiled, beyond compare. The way her eyes sparkle when she looks at me...it's too much. She's so beautiful, and so beautiful to me in so many ways.
"But you have me forever. Now, I'll take care of your things...please enjoy your time out, Miss Lilith. You more than deserve it."
"Thank you, Luna. I'll return to you soon."
She nods. "Of course. Until then, my mistress."
I hug her once more before leaving, feeling an extra bounce in my step. Without a second thought, she accepted me as well...all of me. I must be blessed to have these people in my life, who can watch me transform to a monster and back again, and love me to my core at the end of it all.
Ichiraku Ramen comes into view quickly. Naruto is waiting outside, his jacket open and headband in his hands. He looks at it for a moment with a solemn expression on his face, then ties it around his head again.
"Naruto," I say to him as I approach.
"Lili...oh, you look pretty nice. I should've dressed up, huh?"
"No, don't worry. You're fine as you are...I just wanted to wear something light for the rest of the day." He nods and I note that he's blushing again, much like the last time at the Academy. I really should let him down easily, if he's thinking along those lines...
"Well, let's get something to eat. I can-"
"No, it's my treat," I interrupt. "I insist."
"A-alright. You got it."
"Good." We enter the stall and take seats next to each other.
"Hey, Naruto. And Lilith, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but Lili is fine," I say to Teuchi. "I promised I would be back."
"Haha, you did! Glad to have you again!"
"Thank you. I'll have whatever Naruto orders, since it's my treat tonight. I think you'll be doing a lot of cooking."
"Just the way I like it," he says with a smile.
"Ah...my pardon, but do you have any milk?" I ask.
"Milk? I think so. Ayame, get some milk for Lili here," Teuchi calls to the back.
"Alright, coming up!"
Naruto orders the pork ramen and goes through the expected amount of bowls before slowing down some. I enjoy my own bowls at a somewhat slower pace. Ayame gets me the cool bottle of milk that I desired.
"Kakashi said you were punching above your weight," I say to Naruto. He slurps up his noodles and nods.
"Yeah. It was some drunk old man who wanted us to take him to Wave Country. Guarding him from goons and the like."
Drunk old man...so that was what the trash who mocked me earlier was there for.
"Turns out," Naruto says as he wipes his mouth, "he was too damn poor to afford the proper mission fee. B-Rank would have cost too much for him, so he lied about it being a simple escort. Apparently it should have been listed as B, or even A-Rank. Luckily we had Kakashi-sensei to figure things out, but we ran into even more trouble after we took out the first set of assassins...that old man, Tazuna, was the architect for a huge bridge that was supposed to connect Wave Country to the mainland and junk. And then..."
Naruto tells me a wild, if not very detailed story about the rest of the mission. There was the appearance of Zabuza Momochi, a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. His apprentice, a boy named Haku who from what I can understand, possessed the rare bloodline limit of Ice Release. Kakashi was forced to use his secret weapon and claim to fame, the Sharingan, multiple times. It took a toll on him, which explained his exhausted look from a few hours earlier.
After some dramatics including a false death - Haku seemed to also be a skilled hunter shinobi, which explains that phenomenon - and a makeshift training session while Kakashi recovered from overuse of the Sharingan, everything comes to a head with a final battle on the bridge itself. Naruto and Sasuke fight Haku, and are beaten up badly. Sasuke has definitively awakened his Sharingan by now, having activated them once more in the midst of battle. Naruto recalls himself losing control and drawing on 'something' deep inside of him, which he doesn't fully understand. I can only guess it was the strength of the Nine-Tails...which means that whatever seal is holding it in place has weakened. I have to wonder how much Kakashi knows about that.
"Haku...died protecting Zabuza from Kakashi-sensei." Yes, that's right. Those two were fighting somewhere else, piecing everything together from the scattered retelling. "And Zabuza...even though he kept calling Haku a tool, he...he cried for that guy in the end. And then he killed that sleazy Gato, and a bunch of those other thugs before he couldn't do anymore. But...he got to be by Haku's side in the end. Like he wanted."
"..."
"Hey, Lili...I know this will sound weird, but..."
"But what?" I ask.
He smiles a melancholy smile. "I...liked those guys."
I think on that a moment, reflecting on my own experience. "That's not too weird. Even if they were shinobi, and your enemies...they were also human beings. No matter how much we try to kill our emotions, we can never succeed. We are people. We're all...just a different type of animal, really," I say, thinking about Midori's commentary.
"Ah...that's kinda deep..."
I shrug. "Maybe." A few moments pass by in silence as we continue eating.
"It was...a pretty rough experience to have," Naruto says after a while. "But I'm really glad I had it. It just makes my resolve a lot stronger, you know? I want to change the shinobi world one day. Don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I will. And maybe...maybe people like Zabuza and Haku don't have to be bad guys anymore. They can find their place with the rest of us."
"Is that what you want?" I ask.
"Yeah. A better world for everyone." He rubs his nose once. It's a noble goal. Very like him, I suppose...dreaming big and thinking of something beyond what we have now. I can understand that sort of thing, in my own way.
He finishes another bowl and I slide one of mine over that has only just started cooling. With a grateful nod, he goes to work on it a bit before stopping. "Oh, right! What about your mission?" he asks me.
"Nothing too bad. We just escorted a wagon across the desert."
I tell him about the few things that happened, most of them being episodes between Zen and Toki, dealing with the antics of the latter.
"Hehe! Sounds like a good time! Well, aside from the bandits...but you kicked all their asses, yeah?" he asks me.
"I..." I pause a moment. "I killed them all, save for one."
"H-holy crap..." He gulps. "You really are a super elite shinobi, then...no wonder Iruka-sensei talked about you like that."
"Yes...it's something like that. I'm a natural born killer." I turn my head and look into Naruto's eyes. "What do you think, Naruto...of me?" I ask quietly.
"..." He takes a moment before coughing, and blushing once more as he stares back at me. "You...you still look beautiful and all...I-I mean...uh, I mean you're not any different! I don't feel like you're bad or evil or anything..."
I give him a smile. "I'm glad you think that of me. But...you must understand by now, yes? I'm not into boys at all."
"Oh...yeah. But, well...um..."
"Well...?"
"You're...I mean, that doesn't change what I said, I think...you know?" he says as he rubs the back of his head.
"Hm. I suppose...that makes sense. Admiring beauty doesn't have to be a strictly romantic thing, after all." I close my eyes. "Even if I did want you...even if I could have you, it wouldn't be right. Somewhere out there, perhaps...right beneath your nose...someone is waiting for you, Naruto."
"Ah...yeah. That might be it."
"In the meantime...well, I don't mean to tease," I say to him. "But you can dream of me all you like."
His face turns bright red, and he goes straight back to eating to distract himself.
"Eh?" Teuchi has a confused look on his face. "I guess I put too much spice in the pork ramen that time, that's not like me...Naruto's really burning up over there..."
I feel a warmth spreading through me.
He looked into my eyes and saw beauty, like he had a thousand times before. My heart is touched by that sort of kindness...something I didn't think would happen the first day we spoke to each other. A pure child who tries to see the good in everyone, even me. Even as I present myself to the world as a girl with ice in her veins, he still reaches out to warm me up in every spare moment. It's...very sweet.
"You really are remarkable, Naruto," I say to him.
"Y-yeah? You think so?"
"I believe it," I say with sincerity. As I smile at him, he sheepishly smiles back.
"Thanks..."
We go back to eating, side by side.
"...wait. Not into...guys?"
"...?" Did he not...?
His eyes widen and he stares at me, mouth flapping open and shut. "What...what the?! You're a...you're a...you like kissing girls, Lili?!"
"..." A remarkable child, indeed. Teuchi simply laughs and cooks more noodles for us as Ayame giggles in the background.
I don't think there's enough time left in the day to explain things to this boy...