Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 46
"Discoveries"
[Golden Girls, Part 2]

"Coming up on three weeks...still not much."

My little home isn't big enough to do too much in, by design. Since the weather is currently cloudy, it seems like a good time to get some stretching in. I let my jacket drop from my shoulders and head outside, then slide to the earth slowly while doing a split. My head rests on my hands while I lean forward and think for a bit.

"Hm."

I've sent out six clones today for work and surveillance. The amount of jobs in the northeastern part of this country are drying up rapidly, which is in line with my projections. Without much that the people need, Akatsuki's contractors will be out of work soon. And the Hidden Waterfall won't have much to do either, I suppose. Not that they've cared up until now. With that bit of disruption done, I should be able to move on to other places so that I can stir up more trouble. If it becomes a bother for the native shinobi, too bad. Neutrality doesn't mean the absence of meddling, and they've had their chances to do good.

As for the Seven Tails' host, I haven't seen or heard from her since that close encounter the other day. She's certainly wandered in and out of my range, and hasn't been back to her hidden village yet according to my eavesdropping. Maybe that flying ability of hers is what's making her elusive more than anything else. Sensing areas tend to take the shape of a dome or sphere, which leaves room for her to pass through the air without the knowledge of sensors. It usually takes some contact, direct or otherwise, before I can track an individual from long distance as I like...

I let out a breath and come upright again, then bring my legs together so that I can lean over them properly. Staying limber really is important, more than most realize...hm?

"Dispelling yourself? Whatever for...?"

I let the new information filter through my mind. This clone of mine was on the far northeastern edge, not at the border of the next country, but not too far from it. She finished her work and made sure to go past the Akatsuki squads undetected. Then, a gathering of Waterfall shinobi could be seen through the trees. She approached silently, remaining hidden, and made her observations.

"Apparently this shit has been happening across the border, too."

"Some kind of jutsu?"

"If it is, I've never seen anything like it."

What my copy saw was...like nothing else, truly. They had yet to cover up the corpses that were lying on the forest floor. A woman with her skin wrinkled up, shrivelled more like, and coloured like chalk. And a headless person, seemingly male, his body eaten away like the woman's, with the same unholy paleness to his skin. After sweeping the area for more clues and observing from a few more angles, my clone moved deeper into the forest and dispelled herself so that the information could get to me immediately.

All of the sensations and feedback have come to me as well, and I've been processing them quickly. One thing immediately stands out.

Blood. There was none of it at the scene.

If just the woman had been killed, it would be less obvious. But the man, he was clearly beheaded. And yet there was no blood to be found. No scent of it whatsoever. No splatter on the ground, no trails, not a single droplet. This must have been what happened with the murders in Fire Country, with the desiccated bodies. Drained of blood and moisture.

"Is Akatsuki employing some kind of vampire?" I mutter to myself. "Whatever the case, this is not good. Being able to drain blood...especially mine. Not only does that make me seethe, it's extremely dangerous since I have a rare type."

I grunt and do a somersault to get to my feet.

"Fine. This will not change my battle routine in any case. I hit my enemies, and I don't let them hit me. Simple instructions for survival. They have yet to fail me on the battlefield." I close my eyes and sense for anything unusual at range. Nothing. I suppose this strange being knows how to hide themselves, too. The memories from my clone tell me that there were no signs of struggle, or visible wounds on the victims. They had to be pierced somewhere because of their condition...but then, whoever this is can also pull blood from the air or earth, considering that there were absolutely no traces left anywhere. So if they approach, would it be an overwhelming scent? Or would there be none at all?

I put my hand under my chin. "And of course, the precise nature of the killings means that they saw an opportunity and took it. They may have been going against certain orders to remain stealthy and unnoticed. If these killings and the ones in Fire Country have the same culprit, not to mention those in Rice...they must have had free reign to do as they pleased, in order to further Akatsuki's agenda. But if the goal was to soften up the interior so that they could search for the Seven Tails...or they've been sent in because they see their window closing..."

I run a hand through my hair and try to tease out more possibilities. There's a lot going on at once.

"Attacking shinobi using that sort of ability might be easy...but would also put the village on high alert. That would make getting around harder, and possibly put the host out of reach. But I can't get too eager and chase her myself. Just have to hope that she comes around sooner rather than later, and before whoever it is gets into the heart of the country."

Stay, or go? Both come with their own risks and rewards. Staying might make me a target for any of the three parties that would be hostile to me for one or more reasons. Going keeps me mobile, but it means that I'll miss meeting up with our jinchuuriki, and it means giving this vampire stalker that Akatsuki may have employed a better chance to get their hands on her.

The choice becomes simple. A potential skirmish or loss of trust between nations is light compared to the fate of the shinobi world. I will wait here for our curious visitor.

"Mm. All of this pondering has made me hungry. Time to have a little snack while cooking something meaty. Storage seals are lovely and convenient~."

A bit of chocolate settles my stomach while I make a hearty stew in my kitchen. The design of it is simple and effective, forcing the resulting smoke from the fire to creep slowly along the ground instead of rising into the air. A touch different from the vented fire pits that are faster to construct, but the added stability and stealth profile are more than worth the extra bits of effort. One could cook a feast for their comrades and bake dessert, all while the enemy is none the wiser.

"..."

But as we can see, someone has taken notice on this fine afternoon. It's the visitor that I've been waiting for all this time. And she seems to be even hungrier than I am, from the sound of her rumbling tummy. Poor darling. I'll lift the suspense as soon as I feel like I have a good enough profile of her.

My eyes spy her from afar, hiding a bit behind one of the trees. I stop to lick my spoon, covering my concentration as I hold still and sense the vibrations coming from the earth. The sensation that bounces back feeds me a good bit of information, and combining that with my sensing provides a good picture of her. She helps out a bit more by making a quiet approach and hiding behind another tree, poking some of her body out from it while observing me.

"So that's the person...hrm. So...big. How..."

There's a sustained mumbling, seemingly annoyed from here. It doesn't take a scholar to figure out what she's so bothered by. But I can't help having a healthy bosom, now can I? Certainly no replacement for my sparkling personality, but a lovely feature nonetheless. One of many such things, hmhm.

"Wonderfully and fearfully made. That's me~."

"Hmph. Can't be mad at her for showing off, can I..."

Doing a progressively worse job of stealth, now. Well, I can hardly blame her. Between my finely crafted body and her hunger, it must be an ordeal to stay focused. Either way, I can't sense any malicious intent in her, and her chakra seems stable. I think it should be safe to have a chat.

"There should be enough for a few portions," I say audibly. "Some for now, and some for later. Though carrying it around might be a hassle, eh..."

"I see we have someone over here trying to be sneaky, yeah. Mind telling me where you're from, and what you might be doing here?"

"Oh? And who might be asking?" I say, pretending not to have noticed her before. She steps boldly into the middle of my camp, and I take the stew off the heat before hopping out of my cooking pit.

"Cooking...but the smoke is...uh. Y-yeah! I'm an elite kunoichi of the Hidden Waterfall Village! Be honest with your answers, and maybe I'll let you go with just a warning, yeah!"

"Hm." I tilt my head and get a good look at her in the light for the first time. A petite thing, in the loveliest ways. Short, mint green hair with an orange hair clip on the right, orange eyes, and lovingly tanned skin all over. Her outfit is all white, with two red straps going over her adorably small chest and connecting to what seems to be a red cylinder on her back. The short sleeveless shirt is complemented by separate arm sleeves, and supported by a bit of netted armour that extends under it. A short skirt with the same kind of netted shorts underneath, and white sandals on her feet.

"You're paying attention, yeah?" Her voice has a lovely bounce to it. Energetic, boyish charm. Cute, and reminds me of my lovely Fio.

"More than paying attention, of course. I did hear you mumbling on," I say as I take in her nicely toned features. "But you shouldn't be so bothered by what you're lacking in. You look very, very nice in all the ways that count."

"I, um...really?" she asks, blushing. "You really...wait, wait! You're trying to throw me off my game, aren't you? Nice try! I'm not gonna let you Akatsuki guys or gals get one over on me!"

"Akatsuki, then. What makes you assume that?" I ask while continuing my observations. She has her headband wrapped around her right arm, so she certainly knows how to have style. And that stomach of hers is nice and smooth, making her body flow towards those lovely hips of hers. Her legs...mm-mm. Thick and strong. I think she might even outdo Temari, there. What a treat this is all of a sudden. Heavenly!

"I get the feeling you're not paying attention to what I'm saying at all..."

"My apologies," I say honestly. "I did get distracted in the presence of such an...exotic beauty."

"Exotic...beauty?" She nervously plays with her hair and blushes again. "I've never been so...h-hey! Stop that! Okay, now you listen to me, you...you weird lady!"

"I'm listening."

"Tell me who you are, and why you're here! And stop flirting with me, yeah?" she yells while pointing.

"Well, as far as you know, I'm a lonely traveller who decided to camp here in the forest. You seem to think that I'm part of some...Akatsuki group of people? Which I don't quite understand. What would bring you to that conclusion?" I ask innocently.

"Yeah, right. You're wearing red and black, just like the Akatsuki do! I told you, I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Waterfall. Don't think you can escape my gaze!"

"Mm-hm. And so what if I'm a member of this Akatsuki group? Have I done something wrong?"

"Something wrong? I know why you're here, to capture the tailed beast from our village," she says sternly.

"You think I could capture a tailed beast, all by myself?" I say with a laugh. "How flattering. Alas, it could not be so."

"Right...right! Because you guys travel in pairs, I knew that, yeah!" she says. "So you've got your partner lying in wait, ready to ambush me!" Her head starts to swivel from side to side.

"Oh?" I tilt my head to one side. "Why would I and my supposed partner want to ambush you, Miss Waterfall Kunoichi?"

She pales a bit at that. "Uh...obviously t-to make sure that I don't blow your cover! Yeah!"

"Really. We would risk putting targets on our back to kidnap a random shinobi, while steps away from the village itself? In that case, it wouldn't be very smart to reveal yourself, if you knew of such tactics. Unless...hmm." I give her a smug smile. "The reason you're so worried is that you have something to hide. Perhaps you don't want me to know things like...how hungry you are."

"Um..."

"Or," I say as I step closer, "that you have a very...very...very big chakra signature for some mysterious reason."

"Uh, um..."

"Or maybe you're hiding an ability...flight, perhaps? You did take off pretty quickly the other day, you know."

Her eyes widen. "Wait, you saw me-" She quickly slaps her hands over her mouth.

"Oh, I've been waiting for you for a while now, Little Miss Seven Tails."

"You knew the whole time?" She frowns and puffs up her cheeks. "You knew the whole time! You were teasing me! You dummy! Meanie! Creepy lady!"

"Hmhmhm~! You're even cuter when you're upset...I love a bit of light bullying every now and then."

"Hmph! Terrible!" She pouts and crosses her arms. "Tricked me. Stupid...big boobed lady...fat bottom...curvy for no reason...dumb."

I hop back into my kitchen briefly and grab the pot with stew.

"I would be remiss to let such a cute face starve in the middle of the forest like this. I have more than enough stew to share, if you want some."

She looks at me with surprise, dropping her arms. "Eh? You...mean that?"

"Mm-hm. Let me get us our bowls and spoons..." I head into my small home and find the bowls and spoons that I carved days earlier, along with some water and candies. My visitor gets her serving first as she sits with her legs crossed, and blows on her spoon quickly with the aid of some wind chakra to cool it off before eating.

"Oh my god this is so good there's no way wow wow wow-"

She cuts herself off by blowing over the whole bowl and shovelling more stew into her mouth. Far from a messy eater, she is very eager. And obviously hasn't had a good meal in a while.

"Ah, wow! That was amazing...so good."

She blinks as I fill her bowl up again.

"Seriously...for real? I...I can have it?"

"Of course. Eat until you're full, and don't worry about me. I'm not a terribly dainty thing, you know," I say to her.

She gratefully bows her head before starting to eat again, this time a bit slower since she's taken care of the larger pangs by now. I get us some bread and cut it into two, then silently start on my own portion of stew. It's nice and flavourful as always...this salt worked out as well. I should read up on how to make my own in the wilderness...

"That was so tasty, yeah. I've never had stew that good before, wow." My visitor sighs and shakes her head. "Aside from that, I've got so many questions. But...I guess I should introduce myself properly first. And clear up a few things."

"I think I should be honest with you as well," I say as I set down my bowl. "After all, you've been through a lot yourself. You still are going through it, really."

"Yeah. My name's Fuu. I'm from the Hidden Waterfall, as you know by now. But I'm...not an elite. I'm actually still just a genin. And I'm the host of the Seven Tails. A jinchuuriki."

"My name is Lilith Kobayashi," I say to her. "And I am an elite of the Hidden Leaf Village, their trusted ace. Known to the world as the Scarlet Viper, and the all consuming Crimson Nightmare. Of course if you're comfortable, Lili is just fine as well."

She gasps. "You're...no way! You're the super elite snake lady from Leaf?!"

"Yes, 'tis so."

"No way, no way! I...I really can't believe that I'm sitting here in front of you! You made me food! You tricked me, too...but you also said that...I was a hottie? Did you mean that? Really?"

"I do love teasing girls, but I never lie about their beauty in my eyes," I say with a wink. She blushes and presses her fingers together.

"Thanks...um. I don't know if I'm...you know. Maybe I am! I dunno, really. I've never, like...yeah. But I appreciate it, really. You know, since I'm not as...uh, blessed, as you, you know?"

"Oh, hush. That doesn't matter too much...you're very yummy looking as you are, Fuu."

"Okay, seriously! I'm gonna burst into flames if you keep going on like that!" she says with a laugh. "But wow, it's a total honour to meet you, in person. I've heard so much about you, and kind of, like, dreamed of being as cool and awesome as you are. I heard you killed six hundred and sixty six bandits with a single kunai, in the space of a day! By yourself!"

"Something to that effect," I say. The rumours are getting a bit out of hand, but...ah, well. Adding to my legend won't hurt anything.

"Whoa...and I was threatening to haul you off to jail just now," she says soberly. "Uh, yikes? I won't be doing that again, yeah. Or ever. Yeah, never. Not getting on your bad side," she says with a shake of her head.

"I suspect you won't have to worry about that from here on."

"Good to know." She lets out a breath before looking up at me. There's a sombre look on her face now. "Do you...understand what I am?"

"Understand?" I repeat.

"I...have what people call a monster inside of me. A beast. I'm just...well, I've always just been their jailer. So that makes me inhuman, too. Controlling some of the power lets me do a bunch of things that others can't. And if I get too angry and lose control, people get hurt." Fuu taps at the inside of her bowl with her spoon. "I just wanted to let you know, because you've been such a nice person to me. You should know exactly what I am, you know."

"You're Fuu. A person."

"Huh...?"

"You have one of the tailed beasts that roamed this world inside of you. That doesn't make you less than human. It doesn't mean you have less value. I know what a jinchuuriki is supposed to be in the eyes of the world. But I don't see things as the world does. I never have."

"I'm...I don't understand how..."

"You are a human, just like I am," I say bluntly. "That is all there ever was to it. To treat people as I want to be treated is only right. No matter what anyone has said in the past, you are not a monster. You deserve life and happiness. You deserve to live as a human being."

"I just didn't...expect," she mumbles, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I didn't think anyone would...I..."

"It's alright. You don't have to be alone anymore," I say gently. "You can be yourself. You are allowed to cry...right here."

"I shouldn't...put that onto you," she says as she trembles.

"I'm here, Fuu. I won't go anywhere unless you want me to."

Trying to be brave, and strong...she hasn't known much else but a harsh life. Not even able to stay in her village, going days without food and shelter. Nothing but loneliness and pain. I don't expect to take away all of the pain, but this...I want this to be the start of something for her.

"Is it r-really okay?" she sobs. "Is it?"

"Yes," I say, opening my arms wide. "I'm right here."

She jumps up from where she sits, her body crashing into mine. I hold her tightly against me, and I can feel her body start to shake before she wails painfully.

So much sorrow. I can feel it flowing through me.

I remember those moments, when all I could do was cry quietly, alone. Where all I had was myself. And then I remember the days afterwards, where I could hug my big sisters, my friends, my loving girlfriend.

Even if we are just ships passing in the night...even if this encounter is our first and last. Even if nothing were to come out of this at all.

I want to give this girl a blessing. I want her to know that she is not only a person...but that she is more than worthy of love. A gift that I have cherished deeply, and a gift that will help me change this world for the better.

I pray that I can begin by changing her world.

"Growing up, I just wanted to have some friends in the village."

It's a few hours after our lunch by now, early evening. Some tea will tide us over for now, and I've made us two cups. My clones have all been recalled, and nothing of note has taken place. One went over to the murder scene from earlier, and there are more shinobi investigating along with coverings over the corpses. They haven't made any headway on the case.

"It's just that nobody wants to be near a freak, for any reason outside of work," Fuu says. "I was friendly with everyone. I never wished anyone harm, and I think I was a good teammate. Maybe a bit talkative, yeah. But I...just wanted to connect with someone, on a level beyond just being on the same team, or doing the same missions. But everyone just walked away. Nobody had time for me, or made time for me."

Fuu looks down at the hot cup of tea in her hands. I sit next to her in front of the fire, just in case she feels down again.

"I know that you felt the same way once before. The way you held me...told me so much, Lili. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you properly for what you did. We were just total strangers, and still you did all of that for me."

"You can show me your thanks by living your best life," I say to her. "That's all I will ever ask."

"I can do that for sure, yeah. I promise I will."

"Lovely."

"Um, you're in the Leaf and all, so...do you know anything about that person in your village?"

"I know quite a bit. That person is my childhood friend."

Fuu's eyes widen. "Childhood friend? No wonder...now it all makes sense. You already met someone like me, and...I mean, it's still amazing what you did for me, but it's even more amazing that you could see past that for someone else. People like us, everyone is so afraid to get close..."

"It was hard for him as well. But now, he has so much to look forward to, and be thankful for."

"You mean like you? I bet he's your boyfriend, has to be."

"Nope. He's with someone just as lovely as me, though. One of my beautiful sisters in spirit. I personally have...well, different preferences. If you know what I mean by that."

"Different, eh. Wait a second...so that's why you were eyeing me up like that earlier! You're into girls, then?"

"Mm-hm. Of course, I am taken myself by now. But we both wouldn't mind adding a third wheel, or a few more, hmhm~."

"That's a little fast for me, honestly. I dunno about boys, let alone girls..."

"Oh, it's just me teasing, hmhm. There's no rush at all. I'm perfectly fine with us being friends, you know. Not every relationship needs to be one of desire and passion."

"That sounds more my speed, yeah." She sighs happily. "Friends...that's good. More than good, it's great. Hehe, I finally made a friend! And she's a super elite kunoichi! Lucky!"

"Indeed," I say with a smile. Fuu takes a sip of her tea before smiling at me brightly. She's beyond adorable when she does that...oh, how I wish I could take her home with me.

"Actually...well, there is something else I skipped on mentioning. I didn't have any human friends before you, Lili."

"Something in that..."

"Yeah. They've been wanting to talk to you for a bit." Fuu sets down her tea and stands. "The one you know as the Seven Tails."

"More than that," I say to her as I stand up. "Your friend and partner. A person in their own right."

"Yeah. But, like...how did you, I mean, what made you think something like that?"

"There is the tailed beast that is sealed inside of another friend of mine...the One Tail, called Shukaku, who is partners with Gaara of the Desert."

"Eh." Fuu blinks before shock registers on her face. "Ehhhhhh?!"

"Yes, the Fifth Kazekage himself."

"You know the Kazekage personally?! What? No way! S-so you really did smack him around at the Chuunin Exams a few years back?"

"Yes."

"And you actually factually fought against the Snake Master of the Three Shinobi, Orochimaru?"

"Mm-hm."

"And and you totally really truly killed an ultra dangerous super criminal, Sasori of the Bloody Red Sand?"

"That's right."

"Ah...wow." She clasps my hands in hers, an entranced look on her face. "All of that...and you're friends with me. Wow. So cool. So cool. Awesome...awesome, awesome!" She giggles happily, eyes seeming to sparkle in the light. "I don't think I can stop, like...going into fan girl overdrive! Oh my god, you are so cool, Lili. I know this must be weird..."

"Well, it's certainly a new experience. I've been admired before, and even signed autographs...but being raved over like this, it's liable to make a girl giddy," I say with a blush. "I really might just faint, Fuu. You're too much!"

"Sorry, sorry. I just...with all the stuff happening, and like, how awesome you are..."

"I understand. Let's just slow down a little, and then you can show me what you wanted to in a bit."

"Sure, yeah, for sure."

We pick up our tea and take our time drinking, until we both feel like we've calmed down a bit. A real fan girl...I feel overjoyed, and overwhelmed all at once. I suppose this is how some of the men feel at times, being fawned over by the female populace. But I don't mind it at all, really. It's nice.

"So as I was saying earlier...Shukaku resides inside of Gaara at current," I say as I set my cup down again. "And that caused me to ponder a great deal of things. Namely the fact that he was not known as just the One Tail, but by a specific name. And that he had ascribed a gender to himself on top of that. I wondered if it was the same for the other tailed beasts."

"What about your host friend? Does he know the name of the Nine Tails?" Fuu asks.

"He does not. They currently have an adversarial relationship, likely due to the strength and construction of the seal on his body. His name is Naruto, by the way. Naruto Uzumaki, a name you'll likely be hearing across the lands soon enough. He's as spirited as you are, in fact. His mentor is Jiraiya of Mount Myoboku, one of the Three Shinobi."

"Really? That's super cool! I'd love to meet him one day, yeah. But getting back to what you were saying...you're totally right. All of the tailed beasts have names and identities that they've made for themselves, over hundreds of years! In fact, their real names were given to them by Super Gramps Six Paths!"

"The Sage of Six Paths himself...Hagoromo Ootsutsuki."

"Wow! You know about that, too?"

"My Honoured Grandmother is the White Snake Sage, who lives within Ryuuchi Cave. I've learned much from her, and from my beloved elder sister, Empress Midoriko Ryuuchi, the benevolent ruler of the serpent kingdom."

"Whoa...no way. So you're a princess, too?! Amazing!"

"Well, I am a bit special, after all," I say with a flip of my hair. "So if I might ask, what is your partner's name?"

"Choumei!" Fuu says happily. She pauses for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Sorry, Lili. I should apologize for my inappropriate language, or whatever. My partner's proper name is Lucky Seven Choumei." She sighs and wiggles her hands lifelessly. "Lucky~."

"I...see."

"You are so annoying!" Fuu yells in another direction. "Look, just get out here or whatever so that Lili can talk to you!"

There is a theory that I have...something that maybe I can test out. Strong spirits. If I am able to identify and interact with those on a certain level, then perhaps...

"Hi there!"

"Hello," I reply to the new voice. Certainly energetic, to say the least. There's no sort of label I can immediately attach to our newcomer, which makes sense in its own way. Gender as a concept is more for humans than for enormous sentient concentrations of chakra, I would say. A quick visual tell at the changeover is that Fuu's eyes have become a bit rounder, and there are blue stars in the middle of each of them now, with seven points on each.

"You're Lili! Nice to finally meet you in the flesh and everything! I'm Lucky Seven Choumei, the Seven Tailed Beetle! To be specific, I'm a rhinoceros beetle – shut up, Fuu! – I'm a rhinoceros beetle and I have one normal kind of tail but the rest are wings that I can use to fly! Six plus one equals seven!"

"Yes, that only makes sense."

"Cool! Fuu, shut up! You're being annoying, I want to talk to her too."

"One moment, please. I think I might have a solution that pleases everyone. Just need to concentrate..." I focus on the power resting inside of my soul, that which is called the Cosmic Awakening. If I could make contact with Pakura, who passed on, then I should be able to see those on this plane clearly enough. Hopefully I'm right...

"Lili...your eyes..."

My view of the world shifts. Fuu materializes next to her body shortly afterwards, floating in a blue, armour-like version of her normal outfit.

"Can you see me, Fuu?"

"Huh? What the...Lili, what'd you do? How come you can see me all of a sudden?"

"That's...it seems like something Grandpa Hago would do. But there's no way that you could be related," Choumei says with awe.

"This ability allows me to connect with the strength of the cosmos itself. All things contain the power of chakra, and all things are connected. This includes spirits, like those that have left their earthly shells."

"So you can talk to ghosts and stuff?" Fuu asks.

"Yes, provided they have a strong enough wish and strong enough chakra. Otherwise, they will go unnoticed."

"How'd you get that kind of power?" Choumei asks.

"By reaching towards the heavenly plane, and connecting myself with the cosmos themselves, of course. My ascent was foretold as a blessed daughter of heaven, and aided by my precious senpai, the great Mother Wolf of the Inugami Clan. The woman known as the Luminous Black Wolf, Fubuki Inugami."

"Inugami?" Fuu mumbles.

"The wolf people! Yeah, yeah. They used to hang around Grandpa Hagoromo a lot a long time ago," Choumei says, nodding. "Mm-hm, mm-hm. That makes sense. I understand everything now."

"Do you?" Fuu asks, suspicious.

"Nope. I don't get it at all."

"Of course you didn't, idiot."

"Hey..."

"So you two are friends by now," I say. "It must have been a remarkable thing, to say the least."

"Yep. Because of being put into and taken out of and being put into and taken out of humans, yadda yadda, I didn't have much trust or faith in them. Still don't, which is why I help Fuu sneak out of the village a lot. I guess...I can trust you, though. You know, since you fed Fuu tasty food, and let her hug you a lot when she was sad. You're the first person that's done that for her, really cared for her without wanting anything in return. So...thanks. It was a lucky day when we met you."

"You're very welcome, Choumei."

"Hehe. But yeah, Fuu and I are friends. She wanted to be friends with me for a long time, but I was pretty stubborn about it."

"For obvious reasons," I say.

"Yeah, for obvious reasons. But eventually I gave in, because I wanted a friend, too! We went through a lot together, learned to control our chakra, and our anger, and gave each other support and stuff. Actually, it was my idea to come out here, so we could try to get the drop on those Akatsuki guys who want to steal me away. We didn't get too many clues, though. Then we saw you! And the rest is history."

"We literally met her today," Fuu says.

"Sure did."

Fuu groans and shakes her head.

"I can see how you two have made it to this point. You seem like the perfect team," I say with a smile.

"You think so?" Choumei asks. "Heh, well...truth be told, I'm the brains of the operation-"

"You are not! Don't lie to Lili!" Fuu yells.

"Listen, without me you'd be stuck inside that dumb, stuffy old village-"

"And I'd have three square meals a day! Thanks to your awful directions, I went two whole days without food-"

"By the way, do you know much about the Nine Tails?" I ask, interrupting them.

"Nine Tails? Oh, you mean Kurama," Choumei says casually.

"Kurama?" I repeat. "Is...is that their name? Really?"

"He likes to go by 'him', just so you know. Yeah, that's his name. Talks like an old jerk." Choumei makes a strange face and waves their arms around. "Uh duh dur washi wa Kyuubi da duh dur! What a loser. Nobody could stand him the last time we were all free to talk."

"From what Choumei's been telling me, he's a real piece of work. Something about hatred incarnate, or whatever?" Fuu says. "If he's like that, it's no wonder that your friend Naruto can't get a handle on his powers."

"Shukaku's a prick in his own way, too."

"Choumei!"

"It's true," they say while folding their arms. "Real awful and always trying to compete with Kurama to do the most damage. Obviously the old man just ignores him, so he gets even angrier and whinier like a big sandy baby. But when you're stronger than like, everyone else put together..."

"That powerful, then?" I ask.

"Yeah. Kurama's really arrogant because of that. But as for the hatred thing, well...it makes a lot of sense, actually. Kurama was...what I remember of him was that he was pretty sensitive, in a lot of ways. The rest of us had our ways of coping with life, but he was really in tune with the world on a different level. I guess you could call that a sort of genius, maybe? And more than that, he loved Grandpa Hagoromo the most out of all of us. He was so depressed after Grandpa passed on..."

I think I understand now. Suffering for so many years, being the target of humanity's hatred. All of that pressure, being locked away, used and abused, controlled, despised. All of that would form the most intense hostility and distrust, greater than what Choumei must have felt because of the love and sensitivity that he held before.

To suffer all of that darkness, alone...it's no wonder someone would drench themselves in darkness, just to relieve the pain for a moment. The entity we call the Nine Tailed Demon Fox...he was not born a mass of hatred. He was made into one, by the actions of humans.

"I wish I could apologize on behalf of all of us," I say quietly.

"Lili? What do you mean?" Choumei asks.

"We did this to you. We hurt you, and despised you. We never once took the chance to try and figure out who you were, or what you might have wanted. Even dogs and cats get better treatment than you all did. And now, Akatsuki is coming to snatch you away, to be used as weapons in some sort of nefarious plot to take over the world. The villages, they barely care other than seeing it as a loss of military power," I say as I clench my fists. "Over and over again, ruining not just the lives of the tailed beasts, but innocent humans, too. Pushing them, driving them into despair until they're used up. And then they place you in new vessels, all to start the torment again."

"Lili..."

"This...cannot stand," I say firmly. "I know that I am not the one to rescue people from their own hatred. But I can open a path for those who can. I will tear apart the clouded skies, and allow the light of hope to shine down upon this world. I will change everything so that nobody else has to suffer like you did."

I can feel my body tremble a bit. It's that time already, then...

"Are you okay?" Fuu asks.

"I'm fine, love. I just can't stay in this form for terribly long...it will have to be two of us from here."

"Got it. Then you can turn your shiny eyes off for now."

I nod and bring myself back to normal, letting Fuu's image merge with her body again.

"Thank you, Choumei. I learned a lot from you today. It really will help with things going forward...I don't expect to reach Kurama easily, if at all. But this knowledge will mean something for the future. Now I know how to connect with the other tailed beasts. Not as strange, unknowable creatures, but as people. Just like I am."

"That sounds awesome. I hope you get to do all that, Lili. It would be nice to talk with all my siblings again, one day. I'm gonna hand things back to Fuu for now. It was super lucky that I got to talk with you like this, you really are some kind of goddess or something!"

"Thank you, darling. We'll talk again soon, of course."

"Yep!" Choumei steps forward and gives me a warm hug, which I return without hesitation. "Hehe! Bye-bye for now, Lili!"

"Bye, Choumei."

In the next moment, I see that Fuu has snapped back into position. She shakes her head a few times and taps on it with her knuckles.

"Good, everything's still there. Never hurts to double check, you know."

I giggle. "You two are entirely too much at times."

"A real dynamic duo, yeah." She grins. "But I wouldn't trade Choumei for anything, yeah. They're the best partner I could ask for."

"I'm glad to hear it. So, do you want to help me cook dinner?"

"Sure! Though, I've never really cooked for myself before, so..."

"Oh, not to worry. You'll soon learn that there's a certain romance to eating food that you've prepared with your own hands."

"That sounds classy. I wanna try it."

"Good. I already have the pan on the stove, and some water nearby. Bring me the bags from inside, both of them. Something hearty will do for tonight."

"Yup!" Fuu runs off and returns just as quickly with the bags of food in hand. "By the way, how do you make the smoke creep along the ground like that, instead of going up into the air? It's wicked cool!"

"Ah, that is a little trick that is by design. I constructed this kitchen in a special way to achieve that effect," I say as I take the bags from her. "See this pit here? It goes further in that direction, and I've hollowed it out into a few sections. The smoke goes that way, through the corridor..."