Scarlet Justice - ep. 144
"Inversion"
[Ritual, Part 2]

The last reaches of summer. Nearly time for things to change...

"..."

It's unusual. I feel like something heavy is coming.

"Lili?"

"Hm?" I turn my head to see Fio beside me, eyes still heavy with sleep. "Is everything alright, my love?"

"I'm fine, just getting the webs out...I should be asking you that. You were a bit restless and all, moving in your sleep."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, honest. I didn't notice until after I woke up. You okay?"

"I should be, yes. I think...it's happening again. That whole thing where I feel something before realizing what it is."

"Oh, okay. It's like...a danger sense, maybe? Like in manga."

"Something like that, yes."

"Sounds cool. Maybe you could make it into a cool super power," she says with a smile. "As long as you're okay, Lili. You've been doing a lot of work lately, so take it easy whenever you need to. Everyone's here to carry the extra weight. Just ask."

"I'll remember. After all, I didn't get this far on my own." I smile and touch my nose to hers. "Come, let's get you something to eat. I bet you're as hungry as ever."

"Who wouldn't be? A Lili Kobayashi breakfast is nothing to sniff at, you know?"

We rise from bed, wash up in the bathroom together, and then I start on breakfast. It's been a little over a week since Sasuke's brush with Akatsuki. He seems to be behaving, for the most part. But there's something bothering me, a whole lot. I need to figure out what it is, or else I'll really get irritated eventually. And I don't think anyone would like that.

Fio and I have our usual breakfast, big and hearty.

"Heading out," she announces. "Little escort thing we've got going on."

"I'll take care of your plates, love. How long until you're back?"

"Looking like evening right now."

"Dinner should be ready by then. Take care, then. I love you."

"I love you too." She kisses me on the cheek and grabs her things before heading out. I close the door behind her, and then get to cleaning up the table.

"I should make a call."

I don't want to go traipsing around with no direction. At the least, I should figure out what isn't an issue at this hour.

"Good morning, Ino Yamanaka speaking."

"Good morning, Ino."

"Hey, Lili. Everything okay with you?"

"For the most part. I feel like I've forgotten something, or something's missing today...in any case, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Just finished my stretches. Was gonna get some breakfast and then chill out until this afternoon. Sensei wants some light weapon training."

"Ah, okay."

"Nothing serious, right?"

"I don't know yet. Is there any big news going around?"

"Nothing that's cause for concern. I'm in the loop on the whole thing with our favourite troublemaker, the mercenaries...hmm. No, nothing I can really think of."

"Then this feeling is regarding something in the future...suppose I'll have to brace myself, then. Thank you for indulging me, Ino."

"Not a problem at all. Like I said, I'll only be gone a few hours today, so if you need me for anything, give me a call."

"I promise. Take care, Ino."

"Sure will. Later~!"

I hang up and sigh, running a hand through my hair.

"I hate waiting like this."

Cleaning is done, so...I'll distract myself with something trashy. Fio mentioned manga earlier. That sounds good.

"Ah. That was a fun read."

I hum to myself while putting the manga volume back onto my bookshelf. Nothing like a couple of cute girls to take one's mind off of life, at least for a little while. I should look into the next volume of that Icha-Icha spinoff, too...

The phone nearby starts to ring.

"Wonder who that is at this time of day..." I pick it up and press the call button. "Good morning, Lilith Kobayashi speaking."

"Good morning, Lili."

"Imari, good morning. How have you been?"

"Well enough, thank you for asking. Senpai and I have finally been able to take regular breaks, since the major headaches are winding down."

"You deserve that and more. Good for you."

"Thank you. The reason I called is that I figured you were at home...Lady Tsunade wants to see you. She didn't say what it was about, and it didn't sound urgent...but we both know someone like her isn't cryptic, not without reason."

"Definitely not like her," I say. That sinking feeling from earlier this morning is back. So it's related to Tsunade, then?

"If you have time, I think you should go and see her."

"I will do just that, my love. Thank you for relaying the message."

"You're very welcome. Bye-bye for now."

"Goodbye, Imari."

I set down the phone and look for something to wear. Nothing too fancy, I suppose. I throw on a red and black striped shirt, and match it with a pair of shorts. The wood sandals by the door will be sufficient for a trip through the Leaf.

"Tsunade is usually in her office this time of day. Let's go to the hospital, and see what she has in store for us."

I put my essentials in a small pouch, which gets attached firmly to my hip. All set. Lights off, windows sealed, door locked. I bounce lightly across the rooftops towards the hospital, and settle into a walk once I can see the front doors.

"Lady Tsunade is in her office, ma'am. You can head on over, I'll tell her you're here."

"Many thanks," I say to the receptionist. My hands go into my pockets as I walk the halls, heading down familiar paths until I reach her personal office. I knock twice.

"Hey, come on in."

My hand twists the handle and I step inside.

"Lock up behind you. Thanks." Her voice sounds heavy and wearied for some reason. I hope she's not in too much trouble, and that I can help with whatever it is. "One second. I want to get a drink in me for the first time today."

"By all means," I say as I sit in one of her chairs. "Is everything okay?"

"Personally? I'm okay. Nothing wrong here, I'm just...dealing with some heavy stuff right now."

"It sounds like it." I watch as she closes her liquour cabinet - for what else could it be - and takes a bottle with her back to her mahogany desk. Stacks of paper, distant from the empty in and out trays that I'm sure Shizune intended to be used. A computer, the same model as the ones used at the bank. Efficient things, if a little heavy and bulky. Tamaki has been training people to use them, and Imari picked up on the controls incredibly quickly. Tsunade mainly uses hers to look up existing records, and leaves input to other people like Shizune. No photos that I can see, but lots of pens and brushes. A few scrolls, different sized glasses and two coffee mugs sit in various places.

"It's a good thing you chose to sit. You'll wanna keep doing that."

She sheds the long white lab coat she was wearing and tosses it over the back of her office chair.

"Ah...god."

I watch as she slumps into the chair and stays there for a little while, groaning before sitting up straight and pouring from her bottle into a nearby glass.

"Sorry," she says. "Just...out of it."

"It's fine, really. I...I know you wanted to see me about something. But if it's..."

"It's not. I didn't say much to Imari, because...there's a lot that I don't want to get out right now."

"I see."

"The hair samples you got the other day. From that guy claiming to be Madara. That's what this is about," she says before draining her glass. "Ah, that kicks."

"How did the tests go?"

"They went well. Turns out that guy isn't likely to be Madara after all. We ran more than a few tests and gathered samples. I had Kakashi come in, do Sharingan stuff on his day off, yadda yadda. He was nice about it, even though I didn't tell him what was going on because...you know, top secret."

"Yes."

"We have DNA of Grandfather because...obviously, I guess. There's also a child...was a child, at least."

"A child?"

"Orochimaru ran a bunch of sick experiments. From what we could gather, he had implanted sixty children with my grandfather's genetic material. There was exactly one survivor."

"God," I breathe out.

"Yeah. He's doing alright now, working in ANBU. And he actually has the power of Wood Release, like my grandfather did. Of course, he can't use it at nearly the same scale. But that...I think it's nothing short of a miracle. Last I heard he was going by Kinoe or something. Kakashi knows him, from his ANBU days."

"Hm." I suppose we can talk about that later.

"The relevance should be pretty obvious. We got his help to confirm that this Madara character was hopped up on my grandfather's chakra after all. So that already makes him a dangerous little fuck. There were pretty notable differences...the chakra coming back from the mystery man, for some reason, seemed a lot more pure. Like it wasn't just spliced in, unlike what happened to Kinoe."

"That's something interesting to note. So there might be cultivation going on, somewhere."

"Wouldn't put it past this guy. But...that's not the concerning part."

"Did...you find out who he was?"

"He's someone from the past. Someone who...according to what we know, shouldn't exist." Tsunade pours herself another drink. "The database we have in Leaf goes back a long time...not just paper records now, but we do keep traditional backups since anything can happen. Redundancy, and all...we're a big village, so we can afford it. Sorry, I'm getting..."

"It's okay. Take as long as you need to..." Though I say that, I can feel my heart starting to race. Someone who shouldn't exist? What could that mean? This is definitely what I was worrying about earlier.

"Yeah. But I don't want to drag this out any longer than I have to." She lets out a long breath. "We've gone back through the records, and even if testing like this isn't entirely air tight...the data I got matches to someone who was recorded as dead. During the Third Great Shinobi War."

Her head comes up to look at me.

"Kakashi's friend."

My eyes widen.

"Obito Uchiha."

I slump back against my chair. "That's...how..."

"I don't know...how. I did the tests, over and over and over again. But it came back to the same thing. Along with my grandfather's chakra, the sequences were closely matched to his. It shouldn't make sense. Maybe...maybe there's something else going on. But you plucked the hair off his head and gave it to me the same day...everything lined up, it goes back to that result."

"Kakashi said-"

"I know what he said. I can't call him a liar. I can't call that girl Rin a liar, and I wouldn't call Minato a liar either. All of them came back without their comrade, after that mission...they wouldn't give up on finding him, if he was out there. But he got his right side crushed by a rock, and then buried after a cave-in. It's all there. It's...all I have."

It hurts. It hurts because Kakashi is...my friend as well. Can't I just keep this from him?

"..."

But I...I can't do that. I knew from the moment those words reached my ears, that name...I couldn't keep it to myself. He has to know. It will tear him apart.

Tsunade feels the same way. That's why her eyes are so wearied.

"I have paperwork...circled and underlined the relevant stuff. These medical things can get really dry at times. Did you...want to see?"

"Yes. Thank you..."

"Yeah."

I stand up to receive the papers from her, and then slowly sit down again. Facts and figures, jumping out in front of my eyes. A lot of things matching and not matching.

"There are a lot of things that happen...from person to person, with chakra. And transplanted eyes," Tsunade says. "It's harder to see if the person doesn't carry any of the other characteristics from the donor. Things like that. Going off just Kakashi, I wouldn't have been able to tell what was going on. I think that...if this really is Obito, his right half must have been reconstructed somehow. That would be where my grandfather's chakra would come in."

"Is...it possible that he's not alive?" I ask.

"I had a specialist look into that part...it's not possible, no. The state of his hair suggests sustained chemical signals and growth. Keeping his hair in a state like that, as a corpse, would require detectable chakra or something to preserve it, which we could also see. That hair came from a living person."

"..." I just wanted to be sure. It's no wonder that his Sharingan felt familiar...that same feeling, however slight, came from Kakashi whenever he activated his Sharingan.

"I wanted you to know first. So...that you could decide on what to do. I'll tell the old man, but nobody else. I...really think that..."

Obito is...the person that made Kakashi who he is. Someone who had a bright outlook on life. Was said to have tried his best.

That person...now calls himself Madara Uchiha. He seeks to bring ruin to the shinobi world. He helped Itachi carry out the grim task of exterminating the Uchiha Clan. He is the person behind Akatsuki, and desires the tailed beasts...including the one inside of Naruto. How? Why? What would make a person who gave his life once before turn out like this?

What would change a person called a hero into a villain?

"..."

If it were me...it would have to be a promise of something great, something beyond human understanding. Obito means to gather the tailed beasts, using Madara's name...no. There's more to it. I don't understand what would change him, but I understand who would do so.

"An avatar...for the real one."

"Huh?"

I look up at Tsunade from the papers. "Itachi said...he had knowledge so intimate that he could only believe it was the real one. The malice and darkness...it all comes together. Tsunade...I'm going to call a meeting later, in the old man's office. If it's not too much, could you come?"

"Sure, Lili. I'll be there...just let me know when."

"Thank you."

"Keep those. They're copies, so...you don't have to worry too much."

"Yes."

"I'll see you later, then. Thanks for coming by...for listening, and everything. Are you really..."

I nod.

"You're a really good friend."

"I try to be. Please take care of yourself, Tsunade."

"Duty always calls." She finishes her glass. "But I will. Promise."

I give her a hug and hold her for a while. Then, reluctantly, I unlock the door to the office and walk out. The rolled up papers are held against my chest.

Still so much to do. I can't...cry yet. Even though I badly want to.

"Good of you to make it, Kakashi."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. Hopefully I've done well lately..."

"Nothing to worry about, my child. Please, have a seat. You as well, Miss Enjou."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Kakashi and Ruki sit down, while I stand next to the Hokage's desk. Imari and Tamaki make sure the room is sealed. Tsunade sits nearby, looking better than earlier today...though it's not saying too much.

I still feel empty and heavy, at the same time somehow. But this will be nothing compared to his pain. The afternoon light streams through the windows...it makes the room look brighter than I think it should be.

"I asked you to bring Ruki here as emotional support, Kakashi," I say gently. "Something serious has come up. Tsunade and I spoke about it earlier today, and have relayed the information to Lord Hokage."

"Is this about the tests the other day?" Kakashi asks.

"They're related."

"Lili, you don't...look well," Ruki says.

"I know. I don't feel well, either. But I have to do this, for Kakashi's sake. I don't want to...hide this important thing from a good friend of mine."

"What's going on? Am I...okay?"

"It's not about your health. It's something else. Do you...remember the masked man we met, in Tanzaku Quarter?"

"I do. Some kind of strange space-time power...and a Sharingan."

"There is a reason behind it. He...has some portion of his body composed of cells from the Founder, from what we've discovered."

"That's pretty crazy...although, that's also just like..."

"Our friend in the ANBU, yes. The one who was part of Orochimaru's experiments," Hiruzen says. "Lili, if you..."

I shake my head. "I need to be the one."

"I understand."

"Lili, what's going on?" Kakashi asks. "For you to look this upset..."

"Kakashi, I..." I can't stop the tears from coming down. "I'm sorry. The person behind that mask...all of the evidence says that it's someone you knew."

He blinks. "Someone I...knew?"

Ruki's eyes widen. "No...you can't mean it."

"Ruki?"

"He's posing as Madara. Your old teammate. The one who gave you his Sharingan before he disappeared forever. Obito Uchiha."

"What...?"

"Kakashi..." Ruki grips his hand tightly. The room is quiet aside from my sniffling...just seeing him like this, trying to process what's happening...it's almost too much to take.

"I...I watched him..." He shakes his head. "There has to be a mistake, Obito couldn't...he wouldn't do something like that."

"Everything we have says it's him," Tsunade says. "I'm sorry, Kakashi."

"I don't...understand. Obito is...calling himself Madara Uchiha? He wants to take the Nine Tails from Naruto, and...it's not possible. It's not..."

I calm myself and wipe away my tears. This is painful, but we need to focus. We need to put all of these pieces together, and find a way out of this. Solidify the truth within our minds. I've spent the past few hours going over the details. The time to act, to provide everyone strength...it's now.

Because these are precious people.

"You were one of the last people to see him alive, Kakashi. Combining our information with yours will help make this clearer. It will allow us to protect the people we care about. Obito seeks to create a new world order, with himself at the head...that includes extracting the Nine Tails from Naruto, and possibly indoctrinating Sasuke once Itachi is out of the picture. We had a conversation about this the other day..."

He nods. "We did."

"Obito's Sharingan was not awakened on that day, was it...not to its full extent."

"No. He displayed two tomoe, and that was the state mine was in until later. It evolved with repeated use, like other Sharingan would. I haven't awakened the Mangekyo, and I don't know if that's even possible. But what could I tell you that could help?" He's getting into the rhythm. It's more than I could have asked for...this will help him.

"He was pinned beneath a boulder when you last saw him...was that right?" I ask.

"Yes. It...crushed his right side, completely. He couldn't move, and I couldn't budge him. Maybe if we had more time...but the Rock shinobi were closing in. Rin and I barely made it out as it was."

"Tsunade?"

"It explains a few things," she says. "Grandfather's cells...they were used to heal his body and give him freedom to move again. If I had to make a guess, the whole right side of his body is made up of something that contains the old man's chakra. It would power up his Sharingan, too. Maybe allow him to use techniques in ways we otherwise couldn't imagine."

"Space-time arts like that...Lord Hokage, do you have extra insights?" I ask him.

"Abilities of the Uchiha, as well as their Sharingan, can unconsciously activate in stressful situations. You have had an unfortunate run-in with such an incident, Lili."

I think back to that event in the Academy. "Yes, that is true. In that case, after his right side was destroyed, Obito could have miraculously survived by unconsciously activating his Mangekyo Sharingan ability, before it shut off again. Allowing him to slip through the rocks towards another location."

"That sounds too insane to be true," Tsunade says. "So he happened to slip into some hole, where...someone gave him medical treatment, with my grandfather's cells? Just who-"

"Madara Uchiha," I say.

The room sinks into complete silence for a while.

"Lili...didn't we just establish that he was an imposter?" Tamaki asks gingerly.

"The one we've identified is. But I know for a fact that Madara Uchiha was alive, well into the time where Obito was a shinobi. He was the one who taught Obito everything he knew. He was the one who gave Obito a second chance to live, with material cultivated from the Founder's cells. He was the one with all of the plans, with all of the knowledge, based on his many experiences during the Warring States era. Whether it was through manual brainwashing, or genjutsu...Obito is his puppet, and everything he does as Madara is everything that Madara would do if he could."

"What would the real Madara be doing, then?"

"He must be alive, in hiding. Siphoning life force from something underground, I couldn't say what. But our first guesses were correct: the real Madara Uchiha is far too old, and far too weak to go out into the world. He could not create a new body for himself...so he did the next best thing. He made himself a new avatar."

"The real Obito...is probably buried under all of that," Kakashi says, weakly. "It's so hard to believe, but with everything you've said...it's starting to make more and more sense. No wonder he kept away from me in Tanzaku. But...then..."

"There is something else, there has to be," Ruki says. "Obito...from what I know of him, he wouldn't so quickly succumb to despair and evil."

"That's right. That's right, Obito wouldn't fall to evil, no matter what state he was in. Beyond that, while he was alive, he wouldn't ever give up a chance to-"

Kakashi stops and stares at the ground.

I feel like...I know where this is going. Dark curses...love shifting into hatred. Grief and suffering.

"Kakashi. I know that I'm asking you to relive such awful things...over and over again. But if you can find the strength, after all of this...I want to know how Rin died."

"Nobody will push you into something you don't want," Ruki says, kneeling beside him. "We all know how hard this is for you...Obito was your hero. He was someone who died for you, and Rin, and the village. There's no shame in being sad..."

"It's okay, Ruki. Thank you...but I want to do this."

She nods and rubs his back gently.

"We were down to three people on our team...that meant that as Sensei had to go back and forth to make up for our lack of manpower, Rin and were on missions alone. She ended up getting captured by the Mist...and forcibly made into a jinchuuriki. I went out to bring her back, and that's when I found out what was going on."

"An unstable seal...she was going to be a sacrifice to crush the Leaf," Tsunade concludes.

"Yeah. And so, she..." He pauses to compose himself. "She begged me to kill her, so that the Three Tails would disappear, and the village would be kept safe. Because of my promise to Obito, and everything else, I refused. We were eventually surrounded by an elite platoon of Mist shinobi. I did my best to fight my way out, along with Rin. But the situation was getting hopeless. And then..."

"..."

"Lili...you remember one of the characteristics of Chidori, don't you?"

"High speed movement for a powerful, piercing strike." I nod slowly. "Rin took advantage of that...didn't she."

"She did. I had shoved it down so far that I almost forgot...but she chose to throw herself in front of my attack. She wanted to protect me, and the village...that badly."

"Kakashi...how did you escape that situation?" Imari asks delicately. "After losing Rin...and being in trouble already..."

"I felt...like my brain was bathed in flames," he says, trying to recall everything. "Everything hurt...I couldn't help but cry. And then the pain just got so intense that I..." His eye widens. "I passed out. And when I came to, there were Leaf reinforcements. I...was completely beside myself. Rin was dead...but so were all of the shinobi pursuing us."

"And Obito loved Rin. Didn't he?" I ask.

"That...that wouldn't be-"

"No. It wouldn't be enough. No person with that kind of heart, with that kind of determination, would fall from that alone. But the friend he gave his precious Sharingan to, ending the life of the girl that he promised to protect...the girl that had been his best friend, and that he loved so dearly. All of that, together...all of that, and then being manipulated further by someone who sought to bring the world to ruin before, all of that, and being shaped by an old man who had lived through war after war after war...someone he thought would understand his pain. And then, the flowing love that would turn to bitter, consuming hatred...that which would drive the Uchiha to madness, unlocking unfathomable power."

"..."

"Not because of Rin. But because of what Rin was. Losing the entire world, in a moment."

"Obito...was the one who did all of that? But then...why wouldn't he kill me?"

"That's not something I can answer. After all...Rin Nohara was buried safely in the Leaf, the place of her birth."

"..."

"Kakashi, I would like for you to rest," Hiruzen says. "I want you to rest, and return when you are good and ready. I don't mind if you train or exercise, but for now...you must take care of yourself. Team Seven will be away from each other soon, for a while. I will need your help again with regards to Sasuke...but for now, I want you to remain in the village. Can you accept that, Kakashi?"

"I can, Lord Hokage. I'll...let you know when I'm ready to come back."

"Understood. Thank you."

"Lili...I..." He raises his head to look at me. "I can't...thank you enough, for this. You really are a kind person. And a great friend to everyone you care about. I would have understood if you kept this from me. If you set out on your own to erase Obito, and preserve my memories of him."

"Kakashi..."

"But...whoever the current Obito is...he won't erase the hero I knew once before. If I can save him, then I'll try with all my might. But even that has a limit. I don't think I can do it alone right now...but I'll become strong enough, one day soon. I know I will."

I smile. "I'm happy to hear that, Kakashi. Your time will come soon...I will make that promise to you. That no matter what happens to Obito, you won't be kept from it. But you will understand my position."

I step forward and stand in front of him, my expression changing again. I want him to know how serious I am.

"This will be kept to the usual circles. And of course, that person will need to know as well...so I will tell him myself at the next opportunity. Because Obito, in the guise of Madara, helped him carry out that massacre seven years ago. The same massacre that left Sasuke alone and traumatized. He has caused pain to those I care for. He conspires to hurt my loved ones. Because of him, and his machinations...I have been made to suffer trauma of my own. And he desires to see the Leaf burned to the ground. Kakashi. You have made that Sharingan eye the stuff of legend. You caused it to grow in power, and did not waste the precious gift given to you by Obito, your friend. You know what you must do now. You must make that power grow yet again...into the same one that allows the masked man to alter the boundaries of time and space. It is possible, because yours is one half of his original power."

"Lili, the Mangekyo-"

"I know full well about the effects, Tsunade. And Kakashi does, too. But he will do this, if he wants to save his friend."

"..."

"If you do not master that power, and get to him first...if you do not save him, Kakashi...then I will erase him with no remorse. I want you to understand that. I want you to know that, because I care about you. Mine is a righteous fury, unbound by the pitiful wails of others."

"Thank you, Lili. I understand. If the past and present can't be reconciled in time...I won't try to stand in your way."

"Well said." I close my eyes. "The day has been long, and the feelings heavy on our hearts. We will return to our places of rest, and close our eyes to the world for these fleeting moments. Thank you all for standing with us...it is a comfort rarely matched in this world."

"Let's go home, Kakashi."

"Ruki..."

"Until you're strong enough...and beyond that. I'll be right next to you."

"I know. Thanks...for that."

Imari and Tamaki unseal the room as I open my eyes again, and bow to us before leaving. Tsunade pats me on the shoulder. Ruki whispers a thank you to me before leading Kakashi out, her hand on his back.

"You should more than understand now why I look to you, Lili. And why you are the one I desire as successor."

I turn to face the old man.

"Light from shadow...and hope out of terrible pain. A child born of the stars themselves."

"Saying that now..."

"You prevented Kakashi from slipping into despair. Making him remember those events, in service of a greater good. Connecting lost pieces together smoothly."

"You talk too much, old man. This isn't a time to praise me."

"I see. Did you want to go home?"

"I have dinner to cook."

"I suppose I should make it an order that you stay here."

"Don't push your fucking luck," I growl.

"..."

"I want...to be alone. Just for a little while. I want my brain to stop overheating, I want to stop turning this thing in my head, over and over again."

"It's not something unusual. Taking responsibility like that brings those feelings to the surface. Experience is the best way to deal with those emotions."

I scowl. "Fucking wretched. All of it."

"Sit a while."

"..."

I grumble and eventually do as he says, flopping into the nearby chair. He produces a blanket and puts it over me gently.

"You need to rest. At least for now, my child."

"I won't be a little girl to you for much longer. You should accept that. Start facing reality," I say bitterly.

I feel him touch my head.

"I suppose so. When that reality comes...I wonder how I will see you then, Lili. For now, I will do what is within my power. Just as always."

I look into his kind eyes. Ever so slowly, my defenses come down.

"I love you," I say quietly.

"I know. I always have."

And finally...I feel like today's work is done. I can let go of some of this anger, this frustration. The gentle touch and the warmth help me to close my eyes.

I will sleep a while. If only because...he asked.