Scarlet Justice: Full Blossom - ep. 106
"Rare Ciphers"
[The Endless Waltz: Opening 3]

"Figures. Always too good to be true."

After leaving the Kotowari home, I made my way towards the area south of the Hidden Cloud, monitoring all the way. Kisame was not keen on making appearances, and everything was otherwise normal. I had a debate with myself about stopping to rest yesterday, after a period of several weeks doing extended hours. A quick rest turned out to be not so quick after all, as I was subsumed by the luxurious warmth of my blanket and sleeping bag. Truly, the most invincible combination in these times.

"Just a little nap, Lili. Rest your head a few hours more," I grumble to myself. "Now look. The angels are snickering at me from behind their wings again."

When the eyes of the vigilant close, chaos comes out to play. This time was no exception. I woke up just in time to dodge the incoming search party, and then hid myself from the further incoming patrols that moved swiftly back and forth, and would do so for the next few days. Some patience and a few good breaks allowed me to find out what was happening and why.

Killer Bee has gone missing.

The first and most obvious thought is dismissed on my end. There were no signs of a battle at all, and I caught Kisame's unique signature – and that of his living sword – moving within my sensing range twice over the past three days. If he has Killer Bee, he's somehow stuck here. But it's far more likely that he doesn't.

Local sensor shinobi and trackers are working together. This is for now solely a Hidden Cloud operation. They pick up trails here and there before those inevitably run cold. That only makes sense. I would imagine that an elite shinobi would not be found so easily, as evidenced by the fact that I am neatly avoiding detection myself. Following these types around should give me an edge. In any case, the general sentiment has not dipped all the way into panic just yet. Bee has apparently done this before, though he was found due to his unique hobby. That is to say, rapping. His love for the art of hip-hop is well known, with mixed reviews on his output. It was normal activity in the old country, with several artists becoming famous in a short time. Current trends relate to party culture and related social activities. Recreational drugs, promiscuity, violence...usual fare for most types of music, in fact. To get away from that...mm, no. Even instrumental genres aren't immune from drug addicts and the like, are they. A digression, in any case. To get deeper meanings one has to return to the archives, alternative spaces, or the underground markets with things such as the vaunted mix-tape. I also did hear something about a purple cassette tape of legend, something that fascinated Momma, but the details are terribly fuzzy by now...

Well. Returning to the topic at hand. The Raikage's brother isn't in any immediate danger yet, but understandably nobody wants to take extra chances with a member of Akatsuki lurking in the shadows. I've no idea how or when they lost track of Bee, but the understanding was that he vanished near the beginning of their trip back from the valley where he was training. Now I have a few choices. I can manually search in the same way as everyone else, using my superior tools, or I can start my investigation from the place that he trained, and work my way out from there.

"..."

Or. Instead of complicating things, I can do both at once. Half my chakra will be more than enough to deal with any unfortunate souls that cross me, and I can dismiss my copy in the unlikely event that I run into anyone dangerous. Sometimes the underneath is all there is to it. After settling myself in one of the rock filled valleys nearby, I meditate for a bit on what I want to do, and then make a clone with all of that in mind. She equips her cloak while I put up her hair for her.

"Did we want to check the air defences? Mainly to see if they have any, after we sent the reports," she says to me.

"Hm."

"We are well rested, for better or worse," she says with a wry smile. Yes, I would remind myself of that much.

"Means we can spare the chakra, and if we set off their alerts, they're easily evaded. Especially if they've lost a whole jinchuuriki already," I say.

"Well said."

"Go ahead, then. I'd like not to lose you off the bat, but I like this idea just as much. A manual survey on your way back as well, if you get that far."

"Done. See you in a bit." We kiss each other on the cheeks before parting ways. Now it's time to get to work myself. By monitoring the movement of Cloud shinobi, I can figure out where I don't have to search for Killer Bee. And I can possibly get a jump on his true location.

During our days as Team Eight, we would occasionally stay up for entire days within the village, taking care of tasks here and there. While shinobi are expected to operate on little sleep at any given time, the amount it dulls your thoughts and reflexes is undesirable. It's why we get as much rest as we can when expecting combat, while observation or surveillance allows us to stretch our days out safely. Much of it is also covered by the rotating watch system, but you still don't want to drag an exhausted body into a fight of any kind.

The things we learned from Kurenai have been refined over the years, in our own ways. As a result, I've been able to maximize the use of Shadow Clones by preparing routines where I get little to no sleep while they operate in some distant place. This was one of the main purposes that Tobirama Senju developed them for, a long time ago. I keep myself awake for around forty hours while my copy investigates Killer Bee's training area. Based on my sensing, she was able to get in without trouble, but to the Cloud's credit it wasn't as simple as walking in through a small gap in the rocks.

A lonely stretch of forest did well to keep busy and alert. Some light exercise, coffee, and a sweet treat were all I needed to help keep my eyes open until the promised time. My clone comes back as night falls in earnest on the second day.

"Wasn't too long, was I?"

"Not at all," I say to her. She takes off her hood and lets down her hair. "I saw that you didn't have much trouble getting inside."

"Not much. They do have some things set up to take on aerial attackers, but I don't think it's nearly enough, considering who we're speaking of."

"Mm. The mad bomber can surely get madder, especially when he doesn't have to worry as much about restraint. Speaking of...we should get a proper bead on him at some point. Our own aerial scouting is fine, but..."

"Things for later, love?" she interrupts. "We've been up almost two days by now, and we do want to keep in shape in case our friends in the Cloud come around for a bite and some tea."

"They are lively fellows, especially were I'm concerned."

"Quite. Pack up for bed and follow me. I found a good spot on my way back, so that survey idea was a proper call. We are clever, aren't we?"

"Very clever. Mind helping?"

"Not a problem."

We clean up the small site and move towards the outlined location, a small and shallow cave that is partially blocked by a few rocks. We check for animal life and traps. With both excluded, we move ourselves in. My clone finds a few things to close and hide the entrance some more while I get ready for bed.

"Looks like your eyes are about to close," she says while looking at me through the small opening.

"Ah, just about. I think we're done, so I'll get everything from you as soon as I lose consciousness."

"Good. I've transferred the items gathered to a proper pouch to peruse later. If that's all?"

"That's all." I yawn and wave at her. "See you."

"Happy dreams, love." She blows me a kiss and covers up the entrance properly. I lie back on the blanket and pull another one over me as my eyes slide shut.

It's a few more days after this, which stretches out into a week. The patrol patterns are becoming more obvious and focused. To that end, I've been sending out clones during the day to look at specific areas, based on the results of our investigation at Unraikyo the week prior.

Things of importance that were found at the area itself included used food skewers, beverage cans with a high percentage being for beer, and some mineral fragments. What was found outside of the area was just as interesting, and provided a great deal of insight into Killer Bee's actions. These were damaged and destroyed weapons, like those that would have come out of a fight. Those on the search team for Cloud would have picked up a few, but not everything as my copy would come to find out. She theorized a few things about these findings, and left it to me to test them out on safe ground. The item I would look closely at first was a kunai with its front half sliced away cleanly. Not unusual given that Cloud shinobi use lightning chakra on their swords, but strange in other ways.

The cut angle, sloping towards the front, might be explained away by the chaos of battle. The wrapping around the grip, not so much. Hastily dirtied to give the appearance of wear, and recently wrapped given the smoothness of everything underneath. Taking one of my own kunai, I put lightning chakra into it and place it near the other one. The sparks that jump from it tell me that it wasn't too long ago that it was cut into. There are other finds, progressively less careful in nature and strewn about in dirt and leaves. A kunai halfway through a rock, a shuriken split into thirds, pieces of senbon sliced lengthwise. So we know that Bee has been staging fights with Akatsuki intruders, helped by the random findings of red and black cloth. I've no idea if he's just playing a prank, or noticed that something was afoot and set out to take care of it on his own, without meddlesome bodyguards at his back.

Other findings help us out some more. With our memory of Kisame's and Yugito's chakras, my clones have been able to identify the unknown large and dense chakra blinking around as Killer Bee's. They made a note of his location on their maps, and with information from the first day combined with the others, I have been able to plot much of this jinchuuriki's movements, along with others of interest. What we've found out...Kisame is likely aware of Bee's disappearance, but also does not have a lead on him. He has been focused on stalking Yugito, likely figuring that a match up of fire versus water is overwhelmingly in his favour. From everything I've heard and seen, he's right to make that assumption. As for our intrepid friend, he has not been wandering terribly far from home. I plot the points on a new map and work out the areas he has been travelling based on my own knowledge. Especially if he's been successfully avoiding patrols, he knows where not to traipse through in the middle of the day.

"These points...if I look at some of these crossing patterns properly, some of them were places that the shinobi gathered during their rest periods. Hot springs and pools, mainly. You can hardly go around these parts without tripping over one or ten."

Frequent movements towards those types of gathering points. How come? What might he be thinking? Is it keeping ahead of his pursuers? Or is there something...?

"I'm really not sure. Could be...wait a moment."

My chats with Yugito a few months ago come back to my mind. I frown and set down the map to cross my arms.

"There is no way. Would he risk it all just for that?"

But I have to test it out. Of all the things...if I'm right, then I'll definitely be able to catch him like this.

"The gift and the curse of my brilliant existence. Well, there's not much to lose this time. I can't have anything happen to Yugito, and I don't want to spend too many days running through the mountains and trees."

Tomorrow will work very well. The weather should be nice, and the patrols are heading further north. There are also rumours of the big boss himself coming out to survey the search. If that's the case...then there's my backup plan. It will be devious, indeed.

For now, I will prepare to bind yet another male mortal with my inescapable allure.

The skies are clear today. It's sunny, and slightly cool. A perfect day to soak in the hot springs that are abundant across this land. And we will be doing just that.

I've rested well and eaten a hearty breakfast. Stretches are done, and my chakra is good and balanced. I make two clones today, with one helping me transform the other into a most striking image of mature and seductive beauty. One could take the fun and skill out of it all by using a transformation art, but true professionals would hardly consider it outside of an emergency. We discuss the details and then execute. It all starts with a good and thick ponytail, high up and with the hair pulled back some to expose the neck. A bit of tousling to the hair all around, making sure that one side is drawn back stylishly behind the ear. Light makeup, curled lashes, a touch of restraint on the lipstick and eyeliner. And silver earrings to complete our look, for an extra bit of class.

I hold up a mirror for our subject. "How did we do?"

"Oh, do I look scrumptious. Even more than usual," she says while preening happily. "If this doesn't pull him in, I don't think anything will."

"Yugito could have been mistaken. It's possible he likes them even older," my other clone says in a dry tone.

"I think this is the one," I say to them. "Otherwise...we really will have to use a henge for the next time. I can't make myself look that old, no matter how hard I might try."

"Agreed," they say together.

"Now, he's been hiding himself very well as of late...so I think the best course of action for us is to keep watch until he stumbles upon the trap himself. Based on our observations over the past while, and my recent calculations, this is around the time he'd be skulking about these particular springs. Let's hope he bites today, if for nothing else aside from my comfort."

We put my decoy clone into a set of spare clothing, plain and functional. The pants are rolled up to her calves, and the shirt tied off a bit above her stomach. A small bag filled with snacks and other items for deniability. Ready to go.

"Don't hesitate to call me back if you need anything," she says.

"Read and received," I say to her. "But we've got this. Be good."

We trade cheek kisses before she heads deeper into the forest at a leisurely pace. The plan is for her to spend a bit of time relaxing and waiting for the target to approach, then getting ready for a dip while he thinks she's unaware. At that time, the two of us will move into our positions.

In the meantime, we hide ourselves away and wait patiently.

Close to two hours pass before something steps into our miniature array. Quickly sneaking and bounding through the trees, concealing themselves behind bushes and overturned rocks. A tightly suppressed and remarkably dense chakra. It's certainly the one we've been waiting for...and with the behaviour that we've expected. My copy switches away from her sensing mode and takes her time getting undressed. My other copy gets into position on the opposite side of the hot spring, while I push my chakra all the way down and crawl closer to the edge on my side.

"Aw, yeah...ain't nothin' like it, yo."

I sigh inwardly. Boys, boys, boys. All the same in the end, aren't they? Not that I'll complain too much about it. Equal parts obnoxious and cute with all the silly things they do. And they carry on at any age with their antics, too. But as I've said many times before, I struggle to think of a world without them. This one has wisely covered himself up with a dark cloak, but...just like in the reports, he's wearing sunglasses. A tiny bit of light bouncing from them was all I needed to confirm. Now...let's see how my other self decides to play it from here.

"I didn't think I would find another spring so close by...this country is as lovely as it is deadly," she says out loud. "So many lightning storms. But this is heavenly. I've been wanting to get rid of this ache for a while now..."

She yawns and stretches, giving our visitor a most glorious view while turning in his direction. After that, she moves to the far edge of the pool, directly in his current line of sight. Her arms rest on the outsides, and she lets out a breath.

"I hope they find that fellow I heard everyone talking about. I've forgotten his name, unfortunately...but the pictures I saw made him look very handsome. Though..." She sighs dramatically. "With how famous he is, there's no way he would pay attention to someone like me. Someone who is nearly...that age..."

"Crazy stuff, yo...aw come on, my man. We got a hottie all alone and feelin' blue. Let's light up her day with a visit from you know who. Know what I'm saying, yo?"

He's talking to...maybe not himself, but his tailed beast. Gyuki, from what I remember. The Eight Tails, and the only one who could come close to matching Kurama in the old days. Well, if Bee has been able to survive this long despite his...tendencies, Gyuki must be part of the reason why.

"Yo, it ain't nothing to me, and I ain't breaking no law. What I gotta worry about is bro's Iron Claw..."

Iron Claw? That sounds like a jutsu the Raikage uses. If he's so worried about it, then it must be powerful.

"Nah, I'm kinda tired of playing keep away. Let's pop out, so we can make this babe's day!"

Bee sneaks off a fair distance before reemerging, minus the cloak. At first glance, he looks very similar to his older brother. Dark skin of course, tall, muscular, and powerful looking. For different reasons, he doesn't look as intimidating as the Raikage, but still has his own strong presence. There's the noted pair of black oval sunglasses that hide his eyes, which could be equal parts strategy and looking cool. His white hair is combed back in the same way that A's is, and the white headband tied up like a bandana helps keep it in place. There's a long white scarf around his neck, which I will put into my notes for later, and since I'm currently on his right side I can see the seal on his right shoulder. It's composed simply of the character for iron, which identifies it as the Iron Armour Seal that has been used for generations to seal Gyuki into the Cloud's various hosts. Possibly in relation there are two markings on his left cheek that look like horns.

The rest is mostly standard fare. Cloud's specially made combat jacket, white with one crossing shoulder strap, dark pants and sandals, and guards for his forearms and shins, coloured white with vertical red bars. What stands out is the long red rope belt, and the seven red handles poking out from his back.

"And here I was, thinking about a big, strong, and outrageously handsome man showing up out of nowhere to sweep me off my feet," my copy says with a smile as he appears. "It seems that the heavens do supply freely..."

"Heh." He folds his arms, looking very proud of himself. "I was patrolling this forest, when I noticed something a miss. But what I found instead, was a mighty fine miss. Hope you don't trip if I ask why you stopped out here to take a dip."

Hm. How about that...he does speak in rhyme frequently. And quite well, too. That goes with his other impressive skills...he's clearly alert despite his focus on my other self. She flashes a small sign with her left hand as it rests on the outside of the spring, and I double check Bee's position to see what she means. That only makes sense.

He's aware of my second clone's position, but unsure if I'm anything to be worried about. Pretty good.

"Well, I decided that I would relax a bit after a hard day of work. This beautiful little hot spring seemed like the perfect place to do so."

"With everything moving and shaking like it is, whole place is a super hot zone. Figure this ain't a place for a fine young lady to be travelling alone," Bee says. "But I figure that's why...you made yourself a clone."

"Mm, and he's perceptive, too. I do stand impressed...well, girls. No need to be shy any longer."

The two of us emerge from our hiding places, standing across from Killer Bee and forming a triangle. He remains where he is, turning his head to look at each of us calmly.

"It's been fun chatting, but I think you two should continue one to one," my first copy says. "This water really is nice, though..."

"That's assuming our jinchuuriki gentleman wishes to remain in the vicinity," I say to him.

"Hm. Red and black...might have booked you as one of those Akatsuki guys, if I didn't get a look at you with this pair of eyes. Ain't you the scary snake lady from the Leaf? Finding you out here is beyond belief. And all you want from me is a...chat?"

"That's right."

He nods. "Aight, yo. Let's go ahead and do just that."

Surprisingly amenable. Maybe he thinks he has nothing to worry about from me? Hmph. Hopefully not. Everyone makes mistakes, but in this world quite a few are fatal.

"Thank you for that," I say to him.

"Before we go, let's see what you're about, yo."

"?"

He extends his fist out towards me. A fist bump? Not unusual, I guess. I nod and press my fist against his to return the gesture.

"!"

This feeling. I remember it from when Naruto and I created our new Rasengan. It's just...so much more this time. So much more than even that, somehow, and without seeing or experiencing our pasts. Instead, it feels like I'm learning about this man's heart, and every feeling that lives inside of it. And in the same way, the feelings inside of mine are reaching him.

He's been through so much. And still, to have this sort of faith in others, and this feeling of warmth. A person he would do anything for, and endure anything for. People he admires, that he thinks fondly of. Those dark feelings that came from a life of struggle and rejection are constantly overwhelmed by the light that shines from inside. So much like Naruto, but...beyond. This is the person he would become one day, once he surpasses all of his trials.

This is what true strength feels like. How wonderful.

"Whoa. You're one amazing chick. No wonder the others fell for you so quick!" he says. "Making friends with beasts and hosts, from coast to coast. That's what I call fresh, yo."

"You're a miracle of the world yourself, Mister Jinchuuriki. Or is that Lord Jinchuuriki?" I ask with a smile.

He laughs. "You got it right, and that's alright! You're no dummy, dummy! But since you passed the vibe check with spectacular finesse, you get this one for free. Call me by name, spectacularly rapping, the all almighty Killer Bee. Yo, yo, yo."

I step back to give him a curtsy. "At your service, the ever lovely Flower of Heaven herself, and the terror of this world, called the Scarlet Viper. Lilith Kobayashi, though I would be happy if you called me Lili."

"Heaven's flower, fully blossomed. Pretty and pretty awesome. You sure ain't silly, Lili!"

"Very well said. Shall we continue our conversation in a less conspicuous location, then?"

"Sounds like a plan for this man. Though before we move to another task, hopefully this isn't too big an ask," he says while putting his hands together.

"It shouldn't be a problem. What is it?" I ask him, curious. He coughs and nods towards my clone in the spring.

"You mind if we bring her along?"

I sigh. "Really. I should have known you would ask something like that," I say, shaking my head. "Then again..."

I open one eye to see him grinning.

"It would be awful of me to deny a fellow appreciator of the arts, would it not? Auntie, get yourself dressed. Lord Bee has requested your company. And do try to behave yourself."

"No promises~."

"I should have expected that, too." I wave to my other clone, who waves back and dispels herself. "I figure a distinguished gentleman like yourself enjoys cold beer. I'll find us some, and a place away from most prying eyes. Then I'll try not to lecture you in between our talks."

Bee gives me a thumbs up. "Appreciate that, yo."

"Hoped you would."

"Ready~." My finely aged and suddenly bubbly double attaches herself to Bee's arm, while he tries and fails to hide his delight. I roll my eyes playfully and lead our new group forward.