Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom – ep. 58
"Sustain"

"I mean, at this rate...if the price of fertilizer keeps going up, we'll have to give a hard look to our inventory."

Today is a calm and sunny day in the Leaf. So naturally, Ino has insisted that we have one of our day dates together...and to be fair, it has been overdue because of all the commotion going on lately. She picked out our matching dresses with light blue and white stripes, which I bought for us a month or two ago after seeing them in a shop window. The shop patio is thankfully light on customers today, so we have some extra room to ourselves while doing our talking and people watching.

"It's not going to be a big problem for us, our suppliers are really loyal and not interested in doing super big business with everyone. Might put a dent in everyone else's pockets, though," she says while stirring her tea. "And then when you consider the pull that Uncle Choza and them have on the market..."

"I suppose things can get out of hand quite quickly," I say before puffing a bit of air over my teacup.

"They sure can. Dad says that we have a bunch of controls ready for that sort of thing, but it's always a hassle dealing with the national government."

"It sounds tiresome already."

"Heh. Don't you worry. Between me and Hina, you won't have too much of that stuff to deal with. We want as much room as possible for you to be the boss lady that you were meant to be." She sighs. "On that note, I'm still totally stumped on what to call our cute little group. I came up with some names, but they don't have enough oomph behind them, you know?"

"It's fine, Ino. I know that you'll figure something out."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, darling. I entrusted you with something this important, didn't I?"

"You did, yeah. I'll keep working on it."

"And you don't have to rush. It's like you said, we want to have something with impact once the time comes."

"Got it. How's your whole thing going, in the meantime?"

"Steady progress. The building part for the main areas are almost done with, and we have much of the business structure in place so that it should be ready to go once the time comes," I explain. "Things can always change, of course, but I believe we should be well equipped to handle whatever storms might come our way."

"That sounds great!"

"On that note...do you happen to know a girl by the name of Tamayo Kasuri?"

"Hmm...doesn't ring a bell, though maybe it's that I forgot," Ino says. "Something happen?"

"Nothing recent. Do you remember the exams all that time ago?"

"Like it was yesterday. Seriously, what a ride that was...going from sharing space in your head to fighting creepy bad guys in the forest, and then getting knocked out by Sasuke to cap it off. Oh, and the whole invasion thing happened, but we took care of that pretty quickly. It was fun watching Sakura lose to Lee, though. Made it all worth it," she says before snickering.

"You would say something like that."

"Smug bitch got what she deserved. You agree with me."

"Besides the point."

"Heh. So you were saying about this Tamayo girl..."

"Yes. That trash I killed in the forest, along with his worthless friends...that was her older brother. He was desperate to become a chuunin in order to support her treatments, but ended up crossing me. I swallowed him up without remorse."

"You told me about that, I definitely remember. And I saw it on one of my trips through your head-space, briefly. Does she know what you did?"

"I didn't tell her the last time we talked." I pause to sip from my teacup. "It wasn't that I was afraid of her anger, or worried about it in any sense. I didn't want to cause her any more pain, and some of it was leaving her a good, if flawed memory of her brother. Explaining what he did to me to cause that reaction would have broken her heart. Maybe even killed her, with how sick she was at the time."

"Wow. That's pretty sad..."

"The world is normally like that, bitter as it is to say."

"It's what life as a shinobi is, yeah. I think it was good of you to keep the details to yourself, even if someone else would see it as deceitful. Honesty is a nice thing, but it's not always the best solution. Or even a good one. That's hard for people to understand. Do you know how Tamayo is doing now?"

"She's in good health now. The treatments were more than her family could properly afford, not even with some extreme methods of saving. That's why her brother was so insistent of entering the exams and earning a higher rank."

"More missions at better rates means more money," Ino says with a nod. "Makes sense. But he clearly wasn't ready."

"Which is what he was told many times before. But...things happen for their own reasons. I ended up paying for the various procedures and such that she needed from my own pockets. She sent a letter while I was away, and it was forwarded to me. I did send one of my own back congratulating her, and she reminded me of what I mentioned a while ago, that I would make her one of my secretaries one day."

"Really. She wants to be an office lady?"

"Loves the aesthetic and pace. I think I should put her to work for Magnolia House when I can."

"That sounds like a great idea. I bet she'll turn out to be a superstar, like Tamaki and Imari are. I still can't believe you just up and found those two in your spare time off."

"Well, a bit of luck helped."

"Oh, come off it. You've got an amazing eye for talent. Like we can see here," she says while gesturing to herself.

"Well, I can't deny that much. But you're hard to miss."

"And easy enough for you to bully. Which is another thing I find very interesting, and will talk to you about a bit later. I've got something special waiting for you at home."

"Ooh, a gift. I love those."

"Yep. Let's take the slow way back." We finish our tea and leave our payments with a little extra on top. Ino takes my hand and we start our walk through the Leaf together, enjoying the crisp air and beautiful weather.

"Ah, this is great," she says happily.

"Do I get some hints on my gift?" I ask with a smile.

"Hmm. Well, it's...delicious. Sweet and savoury, refreshing, and very smooth. A real treat for the senses."

"Mm. Doesn't really narrow things down."

"You think?"

"Mm-hm. And of course, there's someone nearby who fits all of those qualities herself," I say as I look at her. She sighs and rolls her eyes.

"You remember I have a girlfriend, don't you?"

"Hard to forget. I'll save some of you for her, too."

She laughs. "You really haven't lost a step. Sounds like you're all better after that scare of yours."

"Much better. It's all thanks to my beautiful, loving girlfriends like you. I can't thank you enough for thinking of me so much, and so often. It's one thing to be strong, you know...but sometimes, you need help to overcome whatever the world throws at you."

"You know something, Lili? You've been dealing with a whole lot of things that just...break people apart on the first pass," Ino says. "To not just survive, but keep putting yourself back together...it's really special to see, each time it happens. To me, sometimes it seems like you're not even from this planet. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out later that you're part alien or something!"

"Wouldn't that be interesting to see, hmhm. But I'm sure that I'm just human, at least for now."

"Definitely not just human at this point. That's a little too much low-balling for me. But seriously, you've done really well for yourself, and I'm glad that you can come to us and cry on our shoulders when you need to. People get insular about that sort of thing, and it comes with the culture. Being able to get out and ahead of that is something special, too. I'm learning a lot about myself because of it."

"Is that so?"

"Sure am. And I know that you'll be here for me if I need anything, like you have been before. I appreciate that, all of it."

"I know you do, Ino. And thank you for being here for me."

She gives me a quick kiss on the lips and squeezes my hand.

"You just say the word, and I'm at your side. Anything for my bestie, remember."

"I won't forget."

"Good."

We finally reach the Yamanaka home, with its beautifully arranged flower beds that form barriers and pathways along the front entrance. The patterns change from season to season based on the agreed preference of the family, and between them it doesn't take long to arrange and plant their creations.

"I'm home!" Ino calls out.

We take off our heels and get into the slippers left at the front entrance. Ino leads us into the spacious kitchen, which is silent aside from us.

"Hm. No Daddy, no Mommy, no Rika. Guess it's just us today. Alright, you have a seat out front while I get us that special treat I was talking about earlier."

"Don't keep me waiting too long."

"No promises~." She gives me a wink and I shake my head before going out to the front patio. One of the longer, softer looking chairs calls to me, and I take a seat in it. The faint scent of flowers reaches me, and I feel greatly relaxed after breathing some of it in. I really should make sure that my new home has enough space for the flowers I want...and maybe I should look into some sturdier perennials, like Joshua and Cadence decided on for their garden.

"And here we are. Presenting my super awesome – and Rika-approved – milkiest of milky milkshakes! Now with a delicious helping of strawberry!"

Ino presents me with the silver tray where two large glasses sit. Generous helpings of whipped cream sit on the top, with appropriately big straws stuck through them and spoons on the other side just in case. A very common amateur mistake is to provide straws that are far too thin for their work.

I nod my thanks and take one of the glasses, while Ino takes the other and sets the tray down on a nearby table before sitting down. We smile and tap our glasses together in a toast, before taking our first sips through our straws.

"This is wonderful," I say with amazement. "I really haven't had anything like this before, Ino."

"Hoped you'd like it. I used plenty of your favourite in there, and it turned out super good!"

"Not too many people use fortified milk in their recipes, yes. The taste can be different depending on the brand, and this one is the same that Hina and I like."

"Made sure to track it down with Rika's help. I'm really glad you like it, you deserve a nice treat like this after all of your hard work these past few months."

I take another sip and let out a satisfied breath. "It's very, very delicious. I appreciate this very much, Ino. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, as always. Do you mind if I ask you something, Lili? About the stuff you recently went through...it's been on my mind since earlier today. If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."

"That's more than fine, Ino. Ask whatever you like, and I will do my best to answer you faithfully. If it does become uncomfortable, I will let you know," I assure her.

"Thank you. So...dealing with all of this stuff, like with that Sozen guy and how he made you relive all of those horrible, scary experiences...it made me think of all the other things that you went through. You remember the first day of class, your first day, I meant."

"I came in on time, hoping to make a good first impression," I say while leaning back in the chair. "Just to be met with pranks and mockery. It really hurt."

"And then on top of that, everyone isolating you...me included. I treated you like garbage, even if it wasn't by saying or doing anything directly. Even with all of that, you carried on and passed everyone else in every way." She pauses and swirls her straw around in her glass. "You ended sparring Sasuke, only to get that terrible result at the very end, after you won and proved yourself to all of us."

"I did. It's something that I can't ever forget."

"I guess what I'm trying to get at is...I really want to, like, understand where it all comes from. How you do everything that you do, finding it in yourself to reach out and forgive all of the people that hurt you, that did all of those things that most of us wouldn't be able to forgive. It must have hurt to face Sasuke like that, to have Sakura in front of you, to just...I don't know. To even reach out to your father after he kept trying to throw you away."

It's a question I've asked myself before. How does one hold everything together in those situations? Why forgive those who harmed you? But I ended up realizing that those weren't the right questions to ask, nor were they the correct ways to look at things. There is no cold logic that I can hold to, especially when incidents like with Sozen are so sudden. Even so, I understand. I have a grasp on what it is I do, and why I do these things.

"There are different ways to look at these things, Ino. I would correct you and say that it's not really a matter of forgiveness. Not even a matter of acceptance. And with all of that comes the understanding that none of this becomes a concrete rule or agreement that I hold myself or others to. I don't treat everyone with the same respect, or every situation with the same gravitas. It all comes down to what I feel will sit best with me in the end."

"I see. That makes sense. So you're not stuck to...a particular code, I guess?"

"That is a good way of putting it." I sip more of my milkshake before continuing. "Another one of the things that I know now is...there are both inside and outside influences at work. To confront the challenges in front of me, like that of Sasuke, I needed help and guidance from those that I loved dearly. Your wish, and Naruto's wish. Those helped very much. And of course, on the other hand, I have wishes of my own."

"What are they?"

"That even if I should hate someone, for their wrongs towards me and others...I think that there are some things that shouldn't be torn away from them unilaterally. I think that Sozen is trash, and that he should have died in the middle of that lonely forest for what he did to Aiko. But the pain of losing family, of having loved ones ripped away, that resonated with me greatly. I think that family is important, and I don't want to decide the fate of someone's bonds unless my hand is forced."

"I get all of that now. There's one more thing that...I'm trying to get at. I just need to find the right words."

"Take your time, love. I don't mind waiting."

"I know, I'm just impatient over here, too," she says with a smile. I watch as she sips at her milkshake while thinking, then go back to my own for a bit. This is terribly delicious, I'm already craving more of it and I haven't even finished the glass I'm holding.

"Do you have the recipe for this written down?" I ask.

"Not yet, but I can do that for you soon."

"These would make a great dessert for our group meetings when we can make them happen regularly."

"Oh, that's such a good idea." She gasps and pats my shoulder excitedly. "We need to have a signature dish. Something that we can eat like, whenever the mood hits us."

"We can leave it to Hina," I say.

"No objections here. I'll give her a call later. What I do have ready is our jackets, but I can't show them to you guys just yet. They are just the most fabulous thing, and we will look like the bossiest bitches when we go out together in them."

"I love to hear it."

"Right? Okay, so I finally have my question lined up for you. You have such an amazing capacity to just, find yourself and realize what the important things are, even when someone's pushed all of your buttons and then some. So how do you, or really, how does anyone get into that space?"

"That I have an answer for as well. It's all about your restraint, or rather how you view restraint."

"Go on."

"When I first awakened in order to protect Hina and everyone else on my first mission, I had a worry about how I would handle my darker side, as I called it at that point. How I would manage the feelings and bloodlust inside of my head. Midori-nee spoke to me in the desert, and I came to an understanding about it. Instead of worrying about how I would control it, or how it would control me...I accepted that darkness as part of myself. It wasn't some split personality or evil essence. It was who I had become, and by accepting it, I no longer had to worry about being consumed. The principle is the same, and it's what makes me polarizing to some, and strange to others. The idea of holding back emotion, good or bad, isn't something that I do."

"Was it like that when you chased after Sasuke?" she asks.

"Exactly like that. I let out everything that was in my heart, the anger, the pain and suffering, for everything that he had done up to that point. Hurting me, making Naruto cry from sadness, causing you to nearly lose your life...and almost killing Hina was the last straw. I felt like I was about to lose control, so I let everything out...and because of that, I could see past myself, and reach out towards the wish that was inside of me. I could find myself, and when things got truly desperate, take hold of the strength from heaven that I was ready to be blessed with."

"Oh. So letting go like that...allowed you to see the truth." Ino rubs at her cheek and nods. "Instead of being...clouded by emotions, and weighed down by everything, you could see through to the heart of the matter. Being true to yourself. Right?"

"Yes, that's it."

"And that's not something that people are just able to do, especially in this world we live in. In fact as shinobi, we're taught to keep a lot of things down, or to partition our lives so that our feelings don't get in the way whenever we have to do serious things."

"The things that make me such a ruthless person at times, the things that make me confident, and loving, and vindictive...those are woven together. A great deal of things that don't exist separately on their own. They all come together with me, and for that reason, I have control over which parts see the most light. Perhaps you could say that for me, hatred and benevolence can exist in the same space. It was so with Sozen. I hate him even now, but it was that hatred that made me see him for the person he was, a failure of a man who was so desperate to do better that he came to me. He suffered briefly for his sins, too briefly, but...he also proved himself worthy of my blessing."

"You're thinking that if it were anyone else, they would have given in too quickly."

"Far too quickly."

"I think you have a point. Personally, I would have walked away and just...left it at that," Ino says. "I'm not nearly that strong. And other people would have their opinions, too. Most of them would say that you went too far, but after everything...I don't think I could agree with that. Especially since you figured out the right thing to do in the end."

"I see. It was a difficult decision to make, but thinking of Aiko helped."

"For people you love, and a better world. It's how you can make those tough decisions. I think I get it now, and I understand that maybe it's a plane that I can't reach. You'd say that it's not one I would want to reach."

"I would," I say while looking at her. "The places I've gone to are ones that are too dark and too harsh for most living beings. I say that with certainty, and the knowledge that a good deal of my humanity is falling away from me as the days pass. I will always be with you, and I will always be able to connect from heart to heart with you all. None of that will change. But...one day I'll have to go to the other side properly, and I won't come back to this one. That's how it has to be."

"As long as it's not lonely over there."

I laugh. "At least you're not too worried for me."

"Hey, as long as we can be catty bitches together until my bones turn to dust, I've got nothing to worry about. Just being able to change the world with you will be a dream come true, Lili. I know you won't leave me or anyone else behind, and that's all I really need to know. It's enough."

"I'm really glad that you're here with me, Ino. I love you very much."

"I love you too, Lili. I'm really blessed to be your friend," she says with a bright smile. "Just to check one more time, you don't have anything planned after this, right?"

"Still following those strict orders."

"Good. In that case, I have something else for us to do. Be right back." Ino hands me her half empty glass. "Have the rest of mine."

"Thank you." I finish off the last part of my glass and set it down before slowly starting on hers. Milkshakes were already a guilty pleasure of mine, and this is going to make it even worse. Minor complaints, of course.

Ino returns quickly, with a small cassette player in one hand, a cassette tape in the other, and that familiar, devilish smile of hers that I adore so much.

"We're moving up in the world. Now we've got technology in place to capture the juiciest gossip around, and willing collaborators. Your girl Futaba volunteered herself the other day."

"Seems she's picking up more than a few things from Shino. Good for her."

"You love to see it. Apparently some very interesting things have been said about us recently, and this is the proof. Let's have ourselves a listen~."

She slides next to me and puts the tape in before pressing play, putting the player on her lap.

There really is nothing like spending quality time with friends, is there.