Scarlet Justice - ep. 78
"Grazed Pastures"
[Fire Country Night Session: Conclusion]
It's currently 5 am.
I would welcome sleep at this point, but still feel more than energized enough to take on the current set of challenges. The immediate threat of the exploding cargo has been neutralized, and a special cleanup team will be sent out some time after dawn to do a full investigation among other necessary things. The three captured have been interrogated to the best of our current ability; we have neither the resources or personnel to match that of the Intelligence Division, but Kurenai has been made jounin for many reasons. Her skill and precision with genjutsu is close to unrivalled in the village, only truly matched by certain masters and doujutsu users. Considering those advantages are usually a circumstance of birth, she's done quite well for herself in this world of ours.
"The old man's trying to catch his breath, so I had to make the coffee this time. Hope it doesn't go down too rough," Taneda says with a chuckle. He hands Kurenai and I two paper cups that we take gratefully.
"It should be fine. Thank you, dear. If you would like, you can wind down for the morning yourself," I say to him.
"I might just do that. You're sure you don't want the messages sent off ahead of you?"
"No, I have a few loose ends I need to tie up. I don't want any visible contradictions on the reports. Please don't worry yourself about anything from here on, Taneda. Take a break, you've more than earned it."
"Yes'm. See you later, and thanks for everything. You as well, Captain Yuuhi."
"I appreciate that. Have a good morning," Kurenai says. He smiles and bows for us before leaving, sealing the small room once more. I take a sip of coffee and nod. He underestimates himself too much, that boy.
"I would take him home if I could. Such a sweetheart," I say with my own smile. "Very reliable, too."
"Yeah. We got a whole lot done with him running the command centre for us. That kind of control over situations like this isn't all that common."
"We'll make sure he gets special recognition for his work. And our old friend too, of course. It's a good thing he was here, or else I might have gotten myself into some trouble at the end dealing with that cargo. White phosphorus...such a thing hidden inside of a normal transport gives me pause."
"Definitely risky. And not very smart most of the time."
"What did you get from your interviews?" I ask.
"Not much, but that's unsurprising. Plan was pretty straightforward. Rush in, hijack the wagon, get away with the goods. The guy out of the loop got a good lick on one of them, and then things sort of got out of control. The driver was initially cooperating, according to what I could pick up, but then changed his mind and was about to send up a signal flare."
"That would do it," I mutter.
"They offed him right there. Not part of the plan, so they tried to cover it up by hacking up the body and making it look like some really ruthless outlaws. I can only guess they were going to have the parts scattered around the forest, but felt pressed for time and ended up burying him in the spot you guys found him earlier. Did their little excavation, hid the goods, and planned to come back later for them after evading the patrols."
"And of course, we can't trace the orders back to you know who."
"Either they don't know who their benefactor is, or they've got some sort of mental block that is keeping them from speaking. There was something interesting, too. They've got seals on them."
"Seals?"
"On the backs of their tongues. Here," Kurenai slides a picture across the table and I look at it. A distinct set of bars going across the tongue...it definitely looks like a seal, yes. But for what?
"Have they activated?"
"No. Or if they have, there aren't any visible effects."
"That sort of positioning is meant to send a message. Putting a seal inside of someone's mouth...must have to do with talking, or silence perhaps. It's not something you can easily activate on your own, so I assume there's some sort of trigger. A word, a gesture...I wouldn't know," I say. "What do you think?"
"I was thinking about the same as you. Could be Danzo's work."
"Maybe to kill traitors to his cause or protect secrets."
"Could be. Either way, those shinobi are doped up right now. Helped with getting into their heads and figuring things out, and they won't be doing much of anything, like trying to commit suicide or stuff like that. I didn't ask anything directly about Lord Shimura, and I doubt they'd answer if I did."
"Wise move."
We sip at our coffee in silence for a while. I think on what I want to do...rather, how I want to do certain things.
"What's on your mind?" Kurenai asks.
"I feel personally slighted by the actions of these so called shinobi. Part of the reason that I had Taneda delay the report to the village is that I want to make a decision before we leave here. But there are other reasons, more important ones."
"You're going to kill them here."
"Calling it a killing makes it sound unsavoury. Execution for treason works better. Far more official sounding."
"Logically, it makes sense. All sorts of security issues to contend with, like information leaks. And if we bring them back to the village, it'll take some time for a trial to happen. Anything can happen in that period. Files might be lost, people might vanish...we don't want things like that to happen if we can help it."
"Members of the ANBU have a way of slipping through small spaces. It can be as troublesome as it is useful when they're on our side," I say.
"When you do go through with it...what's the next step?"
"Destruction of the bodies and any items carried. As far as most will know, they will have disappeared into the shadows, never to return. That should be their fate, I think. And though they truly deserve to be terrorized before they leave this world, I will leave it as business. As it should be."
"Yeah."
"I'm going to take care of it now. We'll be leaving in a few hours...maybe taking the time to organize your reports will help a little bit."
"Right. I'll see you in a while, then."
I finish my coffee and get up, leaving the room. My feet take me to the outpost's medical wing, and I come up on one of the traitor's rooms. I enter and stand beside the medic shinobi as she makes notes and checks her watch.
"Sorry to interrupt."
"Not a problem. Captain Kobayashi, right? Thanks a lot for your help today."
"It was nothing. Anything to help my comrades in the Leaf." This one...yes, I remember clearly. He tried to bury me and I broke his ribs in response. "How is he doing?"
"Decent, considering. Ribs are shattered and a few pieces are jammed in his lungs. Might have to go in with a surgery before we transport him to the Leaf."
"That won't be a worry for much longer. If you could leave this room and return in about an hour's time...I would appreciate that greatly."
"..." She looks at her watch again and nods slowly. "Got it. Let me take down the equipment first."
"Yes." I watch as she shuts off the monitoring equipment, unhooks the intravenous tubing, and lastly, shuts off the extra oxygen before wheeling it into a corner of the room. The dazed patient opens his eyes and has trouble focusing as I walk to his side.
"Will there be more?" the medic asks from the other side of the room.
"The other two will be joining him. Check with Captain Yuuhi, she might want another go at them before I get there."
"Understood."
The door opens and closes, leaving me alone with the traitor as he struggles to breathe. I place my hand over his heart and he weakly grips it, eyes dim as he tries to recognize me. I don't need an entire hour to deal with him, but it will help with making this look more...authentic, for lack of a better term. People will look the other way, yes, but there are sticklers for ethics who will want to know what exactly happened. They might even be connected to Danzo or his friends.
"It's an ending too good for you. But efficiency in this case takes priority over feelings. Therefore...you will only feel a slight bit of distress in these moments. Farewell. May the heavens hear your petition for mercy."
I stare into his widening eyes as sparks start to jump from my hand.
And in a moment, as quietly as it could happen...the first deed is done.
"That should be all. Guess you're heading back to get some sleep. Hopefully, anyways."
"We can hope, yes. Take care of yourself. Hopefully there won't be any excitement around here for a while yet," I say to Kawasaki.
The five of us exchange bows just outside of the outpost, where our operation began a few hours before. It's 7 am by now. Reports have been written, loose ends tied up, and traitors executed. The end for those three would be cremation, their ashes disposed of in some distant corner of the forest and families notified if there were any to consider. I have their tags on me, and Kurenai is carrying the headbands. Presumably they will be melted down and made into something of value later.
"Really great job on your part, Captain. Like I said, we couldn't have done without you. No offence to you guys," Taneda says.
"Hey, you're not lying. Would have been way harder without Lili here. She's one of a kind," Asuma says.
"Hopefully it stays that way. Having the Scarlet Viper around to put the fear of God into those guys across the way...helps a lot more than most realize, honestly. At least I'm not spending all my time waiting for retirement," Kawasaki says. "Not like I used to. We're entering some exciting times."
"Long as we're not on the field doing work," Taneda adds in.
"Exactly."
"You guys are probably tired, too. We'll leave you to finish up your work and maybe get sleep in for yourselves. You deserve it just as much as we do," Kurenai says. "Stay out of trouble."
"Yes, please take care from here on. I would like it if we could cross paths again one day soon," I say.
"I'll still be around for your inauguration, so maybe then," Kawasaki says with a smile.
"Inauguration, huh. You sound confident about that."
"Should I worry about it?"
"I wouldn't know."
"She gets a little timid when it comes to that subject, just so you know," Asuma says.
"Ah, I see. Then I'll root for you quietly from now on."
"Appreciated," I say flatly. "You may well get your wish, but don't raise your hopes too high. Until the next, friends."
"See ya," Asuma says.
"Thanks for your help," Kurenai says. Our hosts bow for us once more before we leave, taking off through the forest and towards home once more. Sleep will be quite welcome...we just have to hand off a few documents first.
"You always clam up when people talk about that sort of thing," Kurenai says to me.
"It's not something I like talking about too much. You're aware of why that might be the case."
"It's actually kind of cute."
I glare at Asuma briefly before returning my attention to the forest path.
"Hey, no bullying," Kurenai says.
"What? Come on, you can't blame me for poking the bear once in a while. Seeing the almighty Captain Kobayashi get shy and self-conscious is a rare thing, especially after a mission."
"It's fine," I assure Kurenai. "He doesn't mean anything by it. And I'm able to take a bit of needling, considering how much trouble I give people myself."
"You see?"
"Yeah, I guess. But seriously, you would make a great Hokage one day soon, and you're aware of your limitations and all of that."
"I simply don't believe I'm there yet. That I have...what it takes to govern an entire village like that."
"Hm. Well, hopefully you change your mind in the future...I'll leave it alone, then. You too, Asuma."
"Yeah, yeah..."
I think about it often enough. It's just that...I always feel like I'm missing a piece. Something that would make the idea more comfortable to me. I don't know exactly what it is, or if it will reach me in a timely fashion. Hopefully by that time there's someone in the position before me. It doesn't feel right for some reason, as much as I try to entertain the idea. That's why these endorsements make me feel uncomfortable. Besides...someone like me, Hokage? Would anyone actually accept that outside of formalities? I don't have that problem now...
It's confusing. I really will stop thinking about it for the time being.
Asuma and Kurenai talk quietly as we move through the forest, and I pay them no mind. About an hour and a half passes before we cross back into the Leaf, streets already filled with people on what would be a typical morning to most. We salute the guards and head towards the Hokage's Office, getting our debriefing from the man himself. He looks well-rested as we gather in the small room from before and sit in the provided chairs.
"Are you all well?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"Yes, sir."
"Good, good. I received word that the mission was completed, but that details would be arriving with you physically."
"We decided to tie up certain loose ends. First Lieutenant Ringo Kawasaki and Second Lieutenant Sanjou Taneda assisted us greatly in our operations, providing tactical and field support that became invaluable as we progressed." I take out the scroll with the mission information and hand it to the old man, who eagerly opens it and starts to read. "Kawasaki was especially diligent, as he identified a dangerous component of the cargo that would have caused a multitude of problems on its own. Taneda also performed brilliantly in his role as radio dispatcher, helping to coordinate our forces and report on any and all abnormalities."
"Mm. I see...white phosphorus? Something like that..."
"Yes. We neutralized that threat, and the others that came with it. Two casualties were reported, one before we arrived, and one in the course of the mission. As for the traitors, all four of them have been taken care of. I concluded that none of the survivors could be allowed to return to the village, whether it was for trial or immediate sentencing and execution. The risks were ultimately too great, especially with the magnitude of the crimes involved."
"Hm. So...illicit drugs and banned materials. Certainly serious on their own. And the murder of that civilian. Did you make an assessment on who might have been behind this?" he asks.
"Based on the evidence collected, we suspect that this attack was ordered by Lord Shimura and his elements. There is nothing to physically tie him to it, of course, and our comrades are not aware of any guesswork we have made on that end."
"I was thinking the same thing...though I didn't want to believe it at first. Brazen, even for him." Hiruzen sighs. "I will make sure that First Lieutenant Kawasaki and Second Lieutenant Taneda are recognized for their exemplary work, as well as the other members of the platoon sent out. More than a few things need to be taken care of, but that marks the end of this mission. Thank you for your efficiency in this matter, all of you. I've already sent messages out to your teams that you were out on business and will be off for the next day or two. There's administrative work I need to do on your behalf before your return to the field, and it will serve as an opportunity to rest properly. Sudden night missions can take a toll on the body."
"Thank you, sir," we say in unison.
"Of course. Thank you again for your hard work."
"This final scroll has pieces of evidence collected and certain personal effects," I say as I hand off a smaller scroll wrapped in black. Hiruzen nods and takes it from me, putting it into his robes a moment later.
"So noted. The three of you are dismissed. Rest well, and I will see you soon."
We stand and bow towards the Hokage before leaving the room.
"I'm gonna go get a good workout in before hitting the hay. See you girls later, yeah?" Asuma says as we make it outside.
"Yeah. I'll call you when I'm awake again," Kurenai says to him.
"I'll hear from you, then."
"What about you? Anything doing?" she asks as Asuma leaves.
"Nothing. Luna is likely waiting for me to come home before she does anything else. She's stubborn like that sometimes. I'm going to head home and rest. You might not hear from me for a while."
"Alright. Take care of yourself, Lili."
"You too."
We share a hug before going our separate ways. I make it home and open the door to the smell of bacon.
"Welcome back, Miss Lili." Luna is dressed and already hard at work.
"Thank you, Luna. Did you rest well?"
"I did. You would scold me if I waited up all night for you."
"I would, yes. It's good that I don't have to."
"Breakfast is ready. I'm sure you're hungry, so let's have you eat before bed. I won't be around to make too much noise today, there are a few errands to run around the village."
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you much of anything about the mission."
"That's fine. Something so sudden must be secretive in nature, for many reasons." She sets down a plate in front of me. "I can live comfortably knowing that you're safe and sound. Well, if a little dirty."
"A glamorous life, surely."
It turns out I was hungrier than I realized. I go through three full plates before stopping, drinking some hot tea to wash everything down. Luna takes away my plates as I shed my clothing and take a hot shower, then lazily flop onto my bed in my bathrobe. The phone rings just as I start to close my eyes.
"..."
I think about leaving it, but the people who have my contact information are people that I actually care about. It's likely to be important.
"Lilith Kobayashi speaking."
"Lili? I'm sorry, were you asleep already?"
"Not yet, Hina. It's fine, I just had my shower..."
"I heard you were on a night mission, and just wanted to check in. I'll be brief...Hanabi wanted me to call you because of the letter sent a few days ago. The person who sent it is growing...impatient, to say the least. According to her, anyways."
"Like I give a fuck."
Hina sighs on the other end. "That's what I said you would say, but...well, I'm just delivering the message. I suspect you haven't opened the letter yet."
"No. I'll do it when I wake up, just to get whoever it is to stop bothering you and Hanabi. Was there anything else?"
"Nothing. I'm glad you're safe, Lili."
"Thank you. I'll see you soon, Hina. Take care."
"Yes. You too, Lili. Good morning."
"Good morning."
I hang up and roll onto my side. Whatever Hyuuga wants can wait until I'm good and ready. For now, I just really want to stop thinking for a while and sleep.