Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 18
"Snakes and Ladders"

I put my feet up on the nearby table and check the watch on the inside of my wrist. Should be another two minutes before the promised time.

We've moved across the week with little fanfare: Fio has been taking off for short missions to tune herself up, I had my interviews and my status as field officer has been upgraded accordingly, and general things within the village have been taken care of for the most part. I still have to find time for a proper team meeting with Hina and Shino - and Hanabi, of course - then get that field test with Team Seven organized. Busy, busy times. If only we didn't have to deal with this Akatsuki menace.

A few knocks sound on the door. Perfectly timed and perfectly numbered, but I would expect nothing less from her.

"Come in."

The handle twists, and the door opens with barely a sound before closing in the same manner. I get to my feet and start towards my visitor. A dark-skinned woman with white hair, combed into clouds that sit on either side of her head, stands before me at attention.

"It has been a while, Scarlet Viper."

"Indeed. Quite a while, Chrome Panther."

Erika smiles and we smother each other in a warm hug. Like the rest of us, she's grown beautifully. But I can also feel that she's definitely stronger physically than before, which only makes sense for someone so skilled with a sword.

And her love of interesting aesthetic hasn't changed either. Gone for now is the dress with many zippers, replaced with a skirt that has two studded, oversized belts and mesh stockings underneath. There's also the sturdy looking black jacket, with what I can see are green insides. The pink lipstick and the spiked collar have carried over, it seems.

"Allow me to say that you look very stunning today, Lady Kobayashi. But I suppose that's a normal day as far as you're concerned."

"Ooh, we're starting right away, are we?"

"Of course. I admit to deriving a fair bit of amusement from stroking your ego," she says with a smile.

"I hear you're quite good at that these days. Congratulations, by the by. You and Ino make for a lovely couple."

"It was thanks to you, after all."

"You know full well that it wouldn't go anywhere if you weren't such a sweetheart," I counter. "You were perfect for each other from the start."

"Mm. I do feel that way...and no matter what happens next, I will always have her in my heart."

"You see? Absolutely precious."

"Thank you, Lili. I'm quite happy to have you home again. From the recent reports, you have already taken care of a troublesome enemy outside of the village."

"Yes. Though I suspect it will only get more difficult from here, especially once we back Obito into a corner."

"We will be ready when that time comes. Between all of us, there will be no escape for Akatsuki...or any of the villains that govern this world. I pray that our next foray into the enemy's heart ends without incident."

"What do you think of these actions?" I ask her.

"They are more than reasonable. Also, I very much trust Captain Mitarashi and her skill...she has done well in service of this village for many years already. We've learned much about each other on various missions in and out of Fire Country."

"I see. Your endorsement is always good to have. I don't have any misgivings, but I do have my biases about villains with strange eyes. If she's suspected, it will be more than the usual torture. Things that when pulled up from the vault of memories could shatter any person. And Obito, playing his part as Madara, would surely try to dangle her in front of us as bait. All of these are accepted risks, yes. It still makes my blood boil thinking about it."

"I feel the same. With the help of our handler, things should go well."

"I think so, too."

"The fact that you think about these things so deeply is the mark of a good and sensible leader. To acknowledge the world of danger and fear is far from cowardice," she says.

"Yes. I realize that now, more than ever."

There's another knock on the door, and I check my watch. That's our third person...one more to go, then.

"Hey~! It's my favourite lil' sis! Welcome home!"

"Good morning, Anko-nee."

Anko smothers me in a hug, and I let her gently move me back and forth for a bit.

"Wow wow wow, look at you! Sheesh! You're gonna give Aneki a real run for her money at this rate, you know?" She leans close. "Though I heard that a certain someone might have seen too much of a resemblance..."

I shudder. "Unfortunately."

"You must be referring to the physical contact made by Lord Jiraiya recently, done without consent or warning in a public space. Another addition to his extensive list of such crimes," Erika says.

"Extensive sounds about right, but at the same time like it doesn't go far enough," Anko quips. "Heh, though it's been going around that you could hear the slap from way out in the boonies. King Pervert should be thanking every god he can think of that he's not stuck in a hospital bed after that display."

"Some anger management helped with that," I say.

"Talk about results."

"Indeed. We're just waiting for our last member before we begin."

"Sounds good." Anko takes a seat in one of the chairs and yawns. She doesn't look to have changed much at all from the last time we spoke. Hm. I wonder if her eating habits have shifted. "Do we have time to go over what this is about?"

"Yes. You were told that this was a special operation, one that would have you out of the Leaf for an extended period of time. With the security we have now, I'm able to elaborate on that. What I would like, and the reason why I had you transferred to my command, is for you to infiltrate the Akatsuki Group."

"Akatsuki, eh."

"The goal would be to get as much information as possible, with a secondary focus on getting into the inner rings of the organization."

"Hm." She crosses her arms in thought. "That'll be interesting. Orochimaru...my old master used to work for them. You really think I can do it?"

"I do. But only if you want to, after hearing all of the details. I have a handler in mind for you, and he should be here in a few seconds."

There's a knock on the door and Erika goes to open it. I hear footsteps and the door closing again, then the rustling of paper tags. The new visitor stops beside me.

"Someone you already know," I say. "A former member of the village, exiled for what he did to protect it many years ago."

"..."

"You can show her your face now."

"Yes." Itachi removes his hood so that Anko can get a good look at him. She blinks before the realization hits her, eyes widening.

"Itachi Uchiha? Holy fuck, you can't be serious."

"It is indeed I, in the flesh, Miss Mitarashi."

"Oh my god, this is seriously happening. You sound exactly like I remembered. How...wait, I know how you can get in, duh. Why...actually, with the way Lili was talking, she must have roped you into her orbit. Huh. I don't have as many questions as I thought, actually." She rubs the back of her neck. "But this is still crazy. So you're gonna be my handler? Wait, you left Akatsuki?"

"Evasive measures have been working so far. Our masked friend has been...less than pleased with my official resignation."

"So he doesn't have a sense of humour? Hm. You'd think so with that stupid persona he puts on," I say.

"Perhaps his idea of amusement doesn't involve losing valuable personnel. We will have to talk about him more at a later date. Has Miss Mitarashi been informed of your plans yet, Lili?"

"Not in full. I was just explaining the nature of the mission to her now. Let's have a seat and go over everything together, then see what she thinks."

"Oh, and Anko's just fine for me. No need to be too formal...especially since you're probably gonna be my work hubby from now on," Anko says with a smile.

"Work...hubby?" Itachi asks.

"It is sort of like a husband and wife partnership, thinking about it," I say while taking my seat.

"I have to wonder if that's the truth. I don't know if I should be getting married, at work or otherwise."

"Really?" Anko pouts playfully. "Come on, now. You won't have to worry about acting at all, you know...I'm plenty ready to give you an authentic experience~"

"I feel as if I might be in danger, somewhat."

I scoff at him. "You worry too much. She won't bite. Without consent, at least."

"I don't mind being tied up at nights, either~"

"Hm."

"Settle down, Anko-nee. You'll turn him to stone and then we won't be able to send you out anywhere." I smile and give her a wink. "Just wait until you get into the field to wear him down."

She winks back at me. "Got it."

"The security of this room does allow for exhaustive discussion of kinks," Erika points out. "However, our primary reason for being here is to discuss this important mission. We may review certain sexual fantasies at the conclusion of our meeting, if so desired."

"Well said." I clear my throat. "I have provisions sealed away if we do take longer than expected, but I shall begin now. We do have an issue with regards to the Akatsuki Group, as stated before. An extensive mercenary network, anchored by a group of S-Rank missing-nin presumably led by the man calling himself Madara Uchiha. What we know, and what Anko will now learn, is that the name is being used to hide his true identity. In reality, the person leading the group from the shadows is Obito Uchiha, a former member of this village who was listed as killed in action during the Third Shinobi War. He is Kakashi's old teammate, the one who passed on his Sharingan as a final gift."

Anko's eyes widen. "Holy shit. Obito? That Obito? How could something like that happen? He was such a good person..."

"We believe that he was manipulated by the real Madara Uchiha, and is currently acting in his stead," Itachi explains. "We do not know his end game, only that he desires the tailed beasts and has been guiding Akatsuki towards that purpose. The leader, known as Pain, may or may not be aligned with Obito's true goals. I was not able to ascertain that fact while I was in the organization."

"The real one? Wait, Madara Uchiha's still alive?"

"It's possible that he passed on before making Obito his successor," I reply. "It's also possible that he's lurking in the shadows, waiting on some means to regain his old strength. Either way, he would be of such advanced age that coordinating these sorts of changes would be nearly impossible. Obito is acting in his stead, this we can confirm. I managed to pluck some hairs from his head during our encounter in Tanzaku Quarter, and that along with Kakashi's testimony was what confirmed our theory. Before that, both Itachi and I believed that he truly was Madara."

"That's...a lot." Anko lets out a breath.

"Part of the reason he is such a threat, and perhaps the reason Madara was able to survive long enough to corrupt him, is because of the cells belonging to Lord Hashirama Senju," Erika says.

"Cells? You mean some human experimentation stuff, eh. Sounds like something Orochimaru would get up to...in fact, I'm sure he's probably been messing around with the First's cells and stuff himself. He used to be subordinate to old man Danzo, back in the day. Possible that they worked together later on. And I guess some freaky cell growing stuff is how Obito survived, or came back to life or whatever."

"Yes. His body is partially composed of the Founder's cells. I would say about half, perhaps a bit less than that," I say.

"Sheesh. Makes your head spin thinking about it. Speaking of Danzo, how're we gonna sneak this by him and everyone else?"

"Our plan deals with that and more."

"Okay. Let's hear it."

I nod and take out a scroll, handing it to her across the table.

"Our plan begins with a scheduled mission, a document delivery to a safe house in the north of Fire Country. The document will be for your eyes only, to be read after you finish sending a report back to the village. From there, you will be moved onto a highly classified, long-term reconnaissance mission. The only people privy to the details of said mission within this village will be myself and Lord Hokage, officially speaking. I will loop Erika in upon her request. The mission to be conducted in secret is to infiltrate the Akatsuki Group, gathering information on their operations, their general activities, positional data, finances, and anything else deemed relevant in order to track and eventually crush their operations. Itachi Uchiha will be in the field with you as your handler, monitoring your progress, providing advice and organizational details, and finally as support and rescue if your position is compromised. Stopping Akatsuki is important, but it is not, and will never be, worth your life as a simple exchange."

"So the plan is to have me do spy stuff. Neat. Being sneaky is one thing, but nitty-gritty intelligence work is something I'm very interested in doing," she says while rubbing her hands together. "So you want me to get cozy with the big bosses at the top?"

"The structure of Akatsuki means that it's composed entirely of mercenary shinobi," Erika says. "There is no centralized corporate team to deal with in this case. We know that said shinobi have a nominally functional group structure, as they have their own wants and needs. But they have been convinced through yet unknown means to work together for the sake of Obito Uchiha's master plan, even if they do not know what it might be in full."

"The aim will be simply to gather the information that you can, Anko-nee. Whether or not you reach the inner circle. Getting a decent read on their movements, their personnel, abilities, and style of operations will be enough for us," I say to her.

"Sounds pretty simple. Of course, a lot of things sound easy until you go and do them. We've got a bunch of people with unknown abilities, and of course the Sharingan's in play."

"There's a lot that I know you can endure, but something like a doujutsu is a different matter entirely. I haven't checked in with Kakashi yet, but hopefully he's gained similar abilities to Obito. Whether it comes down to countering him in the field or our own strategic uses, something like that will be invaluable in our struggle. But with the Sharingan being considered, as you've noted, we will employ our own countermeasures immediately. This is where Itachi comes in."

"Yes. Obito will be aware of my presence in the world," he says. "He may also know of you from his observations of the Leaf, and one of the first things he would do in that scenario is attempt to scan your memories. The mission will involve you hiding your identity for a while, in order to draw his attention. And this is where things become contentious."

"How so?" Anko asks.

"In order to avoid detection by Obito, who has been extensively trained by Madara, we will have to use the Sharingan ourselves. I will use it along with other techniques from my time in the Black Ops to create mental blocks, implant suggestions, and have you react to certain triggers. This will guard you from anything he might do, should you rise high enough, and will allow you to get yourself to a safe place so that we can start deprogramming and safety protocols if something adverse does happen to you."

"I see..."

"Though I will do my best, there still might be harm caused by the various levels of mental intrusion that I may have to perform. I have contacts that I can take you to in order to objectively monitor your health, to an extent. Otherwise, I would do my best to look after you. All of the activity could take a toll on your mind, something that would linger long after the mission's completion."

"I figured as much. So basically, you'd be putting up a few walls to keep certain secrets safe. And he wouldn't know it was you."

"No. Nor would the blocks be easy to remove. They would require time consuming, extensive measures, even for the Sharingan."

"And so you'd have regular check-ins with me. Those are part of the suggestions, right? So that you can have me go to a designated spot every so often...if I don't show up, or show up at the wrong time, you can figure out what's going on with those swirly eyes of yours." She nods. "All makes sense. Adjustments and such...altering my memories from time to time. It's nothing I haven't been through before."

"We would still worry for your health."

She smiles. "'Course you would. That's what a good husband does, hehe."

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, yes?" I say playfully. "Anko-nee, did you have anything else you were considering?"

"Hmm. Let's see...so the long and short of it is that I'm gonna join up with Akatsuki, and hopefully get my way into the good graces of Obito and them once they notice who I am, if they notice who I am, at least. There was a guy who used to work with Orochimaru in the group, right?"

"Sasori. He has recently passed on," Itachi says.

"Right, the guy who tried to kidnap the Kazekage. With everything that's happened, I dunno if Obito will know about me...I did get tossed away, after all. How much do you think he knows about the Cursed Seal program?"

"He seems to have cursory knowledge, but nothing extensive. You in the Leaf are well ahead of him when it comes to knowledge on that subject."

"Okay. So in the course of my infiltration, Itachi is gonna be watching over me for a whole list of reasons, with keeping me safe as the biggest one." She taps her fingers on the table and looks at me. "Ah, I see where this is going."

"Well, you have the floor now."

"Thank you kindly. The idea is to use our connection as snake summoners to send coded messages back and forth, with a couple of dummies mixed in, of course. It creates a secure line of communication between us. Am I right so far?"

"Perfectly so," I say.

"Awesome. Alright, I think I understand everything as it is now. Risky in some places, but that's about normal for a shinobi these days. Definitely sounds like something I can do."

"Then I'll ask once more. Captain Anko Mitarashi, do you accept this mission as presented to you?"

"Ma'am." She gives me a salute. "I accept the mission as presented to me. Awaiting your orders, Colonel Kobayashi, ma'am."

"Good. At ease, then."

"Yep." She smiles and gives me a thumbs up. "Good to go at any time."

"A month should be enough time to prepare, yes?"

"More than enough. All the admin stuff is taken care of, right?"

"Yes. Whatever is left over will be handled by the ladies in the office, but I went over everything a few days earlier. Sincerely...thank you for this, Anko-nee. It will be a big help in protecting this village, and all of us in it."

"Probably among the least of things I could do for you, Lili. I mean...you helped set me free, after all. I've been able to see for a while now why Aneki fell in love with you. I guess, even more than that...having faith in me like this means a lot on its own. It wasn't easy dealing with what happened all that time ago, and then failing to stop Orochimaru during the exams just hurt even more. I've been able to grow so much since that time, and I have you to thank. So...going out on this mission, as dangerous as it might be, wasn't something I had to think too hard about."

"Anko..."

"And before you say anything, I'm not intending to let myself waste away out there, or go on any suicide runs. I wanna live a long and healthy life, long enough that I might put on too much weight like Tsunade's been saying!"

I shake my head. "You're awful sometimes."

"Only sometimes? That's much better than I thought," Itachi quips.

"I see that you're warming up to the idea of a life partner already. How fortuitous for us," Erika says.

"Not to worry, ladies. I'll take care of our sweetheart here whenever I can. I figure there'll be some gaps in the schedule so that we can conference properly. Eh..." Anko makes a face. "You don't think they'll send me after tailed beasts, do you?"

"Doubtful. It is a possibility if things get truly desperate, but the abilities needed for those sorts of tasks are quite esoteric in nature," Itachi says.

"That's a relief. I think. Well, unless there's anything else...guess we're done?"

"Yes, that should be it for now," I say. "We'll go over some of this again with Lord Hokage."

"Okay. Just let me know when."

Everyone leaves their seats. Anko and I share a warm hug.

"Thank you for this again, Anko-nee. I love you very much...and I'll pray that you come home safe. If you need anything at all, just call for me."

"I'll remember, Lili. Thank you for believing in me. I promise, I won't let you down."

"As if you could." I kiss her on the cheek. "And I'll see you when Kurenai is ready to go into the hospital. It's why I delayed your departure, after all."

"You sure will. See you all later! Miss Erika," she says before giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek, "and my dear husband," she says before hugging Itachi and pecking him on the lips. "Bye~!"

Itachi blinks as she leaves, then turns his head to me.

"Worried that you might fall for her?" I ask.

"I wouldn't say that. I'm under no such delusions, anyways. A person who murdered their family shouldn't have the right to a new one, if it were at all possible."

"Hm. You would say that, even if it's nonsense."

"I meant what I said about using the power of the Sharingan. Even if it means losing my sight, I will see to it that she comes home once this mission is over."

"You know, that's not the sort of thing someone says when they're trying to detach themselves from someone else."

"Perhaps not."

"Regarding Obito Uchiha...would you suspect that he is readying an attack on the village, now that you have left his organization?" Erika asks Itachi.

"We had an agreement shortly before I destroyed the clan, if you might recall. In exchange for helping me, and thus fulfilling his revenge on the people that betrayed him in the past, he would leave the rest of the village and Sasuke alone. As of now, he is honouring this request. Part of it is because he understands I have trump cards left to play if he should break the agreement, and part of it is because of the existence of strong warriors such as yourself. It would be too much of a risk at this point. However, there are two conditions that I can think of where he would be keen to ignore all of that."

"What might those be?" I ask.

"The first would be that he has achieved a significant part of his goals. Whether it's one or more villages destabilized, or the capture of a number of tailed beasts. At that point, he could attack with several members of Akatsuki in order to land a crippling blow, capture Naruto, or do both things if possible. The second condition would be that he was experiencing significant losses and needed extra space to operate. Attacking the village with everything he had would allow him to reset the board."

"That makes our timing crucial, then."

"Yes."

"All the more reason to launch this plan now. As for the information gathered...Erika, you said something interesting that I hadn't considered."

"Yes, it was in regards to our patrol network," she replies. "I surmised that by learning where Akatsuki had a tendency to operate, we could send units out into those areas ahead of time in order to take care of local issues. We have spent some time gathering extra funds that will go directly into this operation, and even if those should run out, we will continue to spend money until the time that Akatsuki is neutralized as a threat. This also may have the positive effect of boosting the Leaf's profile, so it's very much possible that the initial costs will be offset by an influx of clients who see our work."

"That should do nicely. It's also a valid way for younger shinobi to get field experience, and generally safer. Don't you love having clever friends like this?" I say to Itachi.

"It is quite nice, speaking from personal experience."

"Well, in any case...there is much that we can worry about, but not enough hours in the day to do so. We will adjourn this meeting and give ourselves time to rest and prepare."

"I will depart, then. Preparing some of the documentation now will make things less stressful later on," Erika says. "Itachi, Lili. Please take care."

"Yes. Goodbye for now, Miss Kotowari."

"Goodbye, Erika. We'll talk soon."

She gives us a bow before heading out.

"Unfortunately, I can't stay in the village for too long. I have prepared some notes in the meantime," Itachi says before handing me a scroll. "It should be enough until the next time we meet."

"Have you checked on Sasuke?"

"Yes. He is doing well for himself...spending time with him, even if it was short, was good for both of us." He pauses. "I wouldn't know about forming a new family...or restoring what I have as it is now. But I do hope that he can move ahead, and restore the Uchiha Clan in earnest. It will take a long time, but it is possible."

"And yourself? Are you alright?" I ask while looking up at him. He simply smiles and puts a hand on my head.

"I did make a promise to you, that I would not fade into the darkness until your goals came to fruition. I intend to keep that promise, no matter what might befall me in the future."

"That's very lovely. It's also not an answer to my question."

I feel him pat my head gently before moving away and putting on his hood and mask.

"Goodbye for now, imouto."

"Don't do anything stupid."

He waves over his shoulder before leaving. I sigh and look at the scroll in my hand.

"Seriously...just make sure you come back to me. I don't need you to be a hero...you've done more than enough. That's my job now."

I sit down and unroll the scroll on the table, then start to read.