Scarlet Justice - ep. 03
"Training Days"

"Off you go. Luna, be sure to supervise her training as instructed."

"Yes, Mistress."

It's the next morning. Midori-nee has made the arrangements with my stepmother for my training, and we are headed over now to get started for the first time. We leave and start our walk down the paved road, unusual for Fire Country and a symbol of our high status. Our destination is a mile north.

The mansion comes into view quickly, and only grows larger and more majestic as we approach. I can't imagine the expense that went into this sort of structure. The large front gate is guarded by sharply dressed men in suits, and they acknowledge us before escorting us inside. We pass several maids as we enter to a cool, refreshing atmosphere. So Midori has central air installed...certainly luxurious, to say the least.

"Good morning, Lili~!"

"Good morning," I reply. Midori smiles and pats me on the head gently. She's gone with a close-fitting shirt and shorts as she meets us. I pulled up one of my outfits for dancing classes, a light shirt that hangs a bit loosely paired with sweatpants, all underneath my light jacket. Luna has gotten into the mood with a tracksuit, but it's unable to hide her curves properly. Much like everything else she wears, it seems.

"G-good morning, Lady Midoriko."

"It's very pleasant seeing you again, Luna. You've been sent to supervise, have you?"

"It's fine," I say. "I told her everything after she peeped on us from the window."

Midori sighs and places a hand on her cheek as Luna pales. "Dear, dear. How troublesome..."

"She knows that you're a snake now. Also, she's going to be living with me when I go to the Hidden Leaf. She knows how to use the knife you gave me very well. And another important thing is that she's a perverted lesbian."

"Miss Lilith...!"

"Oho...is that so? Hmm...I see. Well, I know that you trust each other very much, so all of this is fine. And I do mean all of it," Midori says as she gives Luna a wink. Luna goes from pale to bright red in an instant, playing with her hands. "So. Shall we chat a bit, or start training right away?"

"I would like to begin," I say.

"Mm-hm. Understood. Follow me downstairs, lovelies."

As we go through the mansion, a question does come to mind. I think Midori would like to hear the answer as well.

"Luna? Why did you choose to become a maid in the first place?" I ask her.

"Eh? Oh, um...mm...it's sort of a long story, but I can condense it a bit," Luna says as we walk. "My mom left my papa for another man. He wasn't getting much from his military pension, so the farm we lived on was really our way of living. I think...I reminded him too much of mom, and it hurt him whenever he got a bit upset. I wanted to do my best for him as his daughter...but we were only barely making it from month to month." She pauses a bit. "I learned that he was secretly putting away money, and it was for me. He saved enough and told me to go live on my own, that it was for the best. He loved me so much, and I knew that. So I did as he asked. My first job was as a waitress, and I liked it for the most part, but the back and forth from home to work was a lot! Probably the worst part of my job, by far. So I saw a job for a live-in maid, and tried it out. I really liked it...serving people is such a joy for me, and I didn't have much to complain about now that home was work and work was home."

"So it was something that you discovered, yes?" Midori asks. Luna blushes and nods.

"Yes. It wasn't something I planned to do, really. I wanted to be something like...a dancer, or a painter. You know, making art. I still do those things in my spare time. But this...it makes me feel so at ease. Not every day is perfect, but this is what I want to do with my life. I'm happy."

I wonder if I'll get to that point one day...finding something that I wanted to spend my entire life doing. Perhaps this shinobi thing would be it? Learning how to kill people? It's so curious.

But I am rather excited to see what this will bring.

"Here we are." We've descended into the basement, where an obstacle course and several targets are set up in the distance. To call it a mere basement would be foolishness, though...it's easily the size of a soccer field.
"Now, we can get started. First, we'll find out which element best suits you. And at the same time, we can look at a suitable form of movement to start with," Midori explains to me.

"Do your best, Miss Lilith," Luna says to me.

Midori hands me a small piece of paper. "This is from a specially grown tree, fed exclusively with chakra and chakra based sustenance. When you flow energy through this paper, it responds to it and reacts in certain ways. This is how shinobi usually figure out where their strengths are."

"I simply have to concentrate?" I ask.

"Yes. Go ahead."

I nod and close my eyes before focusing. I feel something happening and strange things happen to the chakra paper; when I open my eyes I am left with two soggy, wrinkled pieces of paper in between my fingers.

"Ah, that's interesting. You have two affinities already," Midori says with a smile. "Water and Lightning, then. That's a very good start, especially for a high-born child. Now, we'll go through this little course together and see exactly where you stand. Are we ready?"

"Yes," I say. Luna takes my jacket for me, and I bounce on my feet lightly.

"Good. Luna, please time us," Midori says. Luna takes a stopwatch from her pocket and readies it.

"Understood. When you're ready."

"And...go."

I follow Midori-nee faithfully through the obstacle course - it's longer than I realized at first. I keep up as best as I can. She's hardly breaking a sweat, running ahead of me as if it's a light stroll down the road. Meanwhile, I can feel the wind whistling in my ears. We are moving quickly.

She glances back every so often and gives me an encouraging smile. It's working...I am more energized by the moment. We hop and skip and jump over obstacles, test our balance, and move up and down various slopes to test our acceleration and control. We slow after jumping over the last low wall.

"Let's walk the rest off," Midori says. I nod and wipe sweat from my brow as I catch up to her, walking casually along the track while catching my breath.

"Let's see, now. Your strength is a bit below the average for a shinobi. You relied equally on instinct and forward thinking whenever you encountered challenges. And your reflexes...they're exceptional. This goes along with your brilliant speed and balance. You also have a high level of endurance, as shown by the fact that you completed this course next to me. This isn't one for beginners, you know."

Ah. As expected of Midori-nee. She figured all of that out from one session.

"I've also taken note of your body...well, you know what I mean by that," she says with a laugh. "You're very flexible. That will allow you to do some extra things in the heat of the moment, and you won't have to think so much. Things like this..." Midori stops and lifts her leg, holding it against the side of her head. "...aren't as simple as they look. You really do have some talent, you know."

"..." I manage to lift my leg fairly high, but not to the angle she has it at. How exactly does she do that...?

"Ufufu...everything at its own pace, my love. You'll get to where I am very soon," she says with a smile. I feel her warm hand on my head again.

"Understood."

"Good! Now, for the next phase..."

I nod, feeling like I've caught my breath after the obstacle course.

"Is there anything you would like me to do?" Luna asks.

"Ah, yes. If you could fetch us some refreshments, that would be wonderful," Midori says.

"Yes, of course. I will return shortly." Luna bows and heads off, leaving me with Midori alone. She looks me over and nods.

"Well. Shall we begin?"

I nod, and she takes me through my paces.

I already knew what chakra was. My stepmother taught me about it, and revealed that she had taken part in kunoichi training - the reason why she got the idea to send me off to do it myself, along with my father's prodding. She decided to become a model, doing what were wholesome shoots until she was scouted and told that gravure models were paid a lot more due to being in demand.

From what she remembered of the initial training, she passed onto me.

Midori tells me that actual ninjutsu is something that I will learn later at the Academy, but she gives me ideas and an understanding of the basics anyways. I learn a few things for the midst of battle and start to test them out, tricks to maintain speed and balance for example. By the time we get through everything, it seems to be getting late, and I'm starting to tire.

"This has been a lot for one day...but you took to this training quickly, Lili. Luna, I apologize for bothering you...but do you think I could keep Lili over?" Midori asks.

Luna nods and sets another refreshment tray down while clearing the other jugs and glasses. "Mistress Emi won't mind at all. I will call and inform her as soon as I finish here."

"Thank you. Oh, and no need to worry about clothing. I have your sizes."

"Ah. As expected of you, Miss Midoriko."

"Lili, we'll take a break and then finish up our training for the day. Tomorrow is another opportunity."

The next morning comes and I'm gently shaken awake by Luna. Yesterday was tiring, but fulfilling.

"Miss Lilith?"

"Mm...thank you, Luna."

"Of course. Good morning to you." She's wearing a very...thin and revealing nightgown. I take note of her and frown.

"Warm milk."

"Eh...?"

"Milk," I say firmly. "A pitcher of it. Please."

"Forgive me, Miss Lilith. Right away." She leaves me and heads out of the room, while I head to the bathroom to clean up. I change into a new training outfit provided by Midori-nee, similar to the one I came in with.

"..." My hand goes over my chest and I sigh reflexively.

"Lovely, you're already awake. Good morning, Lili."

"Good morning, Midori-nee." She enters the room and pats me on the head, as always. Her training wear is already on, and I glance up at her.

"Something wrong, love?"

"It's nothing," I say as I shake my head.

Midori puts her hand on my back and leads me downstairs to our training area, where we meet Luna. She's put on a robe over her gown by now and hands me a mug of milk as I move towards her. I gulp it down quickly and signal for more; she pours me several cups until the pitcher is empty.

"Thank you, Luna."

"It's always my pleasure, Miss Lilith. I'll get changed into proper clothing for the day. Please excuse me," she says with a bow before leaving. Midori giggles a bit at that and pats my head again.

"I know what's wrong~ Don't you worry, you'll grow into a splendid woman."

It's...sort of reassuring to hear that.

"But...she does have an outrageous figure."

"And she doesn't even exercise that much."

"Mm. I don't either."

And yet she looks like this...unbelievable. Truly unfair.

"Awful. Both of you," I pout. My elder sister laughs lightly and pats me on the shoulders.

"Let's burn off that frustration in today's session."

That much will be a welcome distraction. "Fine."

The day starts with the normal exercises. We practice movement, especially lateral movement which is important in positioning and evasive action. It's very easy to move quickly in a straight line, it's harder to properly change direction, and it's even harder to discern the right time to change direction and speed. Work today is mainly put into shoring up those gaps.

And now, we've moved on to the promised topic: the summoning technique. Midori is going to do something advanced with me, something that most summoners never get access to.

She takes a small knife and cuts into her own skin, drawing blood. The knife is coated in it once she's done. Her eyes meet mine.

"This will hurt, but it will be for the best. I want you to trust me for this...are you ready?"

I nod slowly and she begins. She takes her steady hand and carves a set of seals into my skin, moving from my left wrist upwards to the elbow. She dips the knife into my blood and traces her lines with it. It hurts a lot. I remain as still as possible, not making a sound. I feel her stop as soon as I think the pain is becoming too much.

"Are you alright, Lili?" she asks.

"I'm...I'm fine," I squeak out, sniffling. Midori cleans the cuts and the stinging makes my voice slip. I'm starting to tear up. As the pain dies down, I see the lines have solidified; they're black and run across my skin in a detailed, intricate series of patterns.

"Lili? Thank you for trusting me," Midori says gently. I nod and snuggle into her, feeling her hold me tightly. I'm reminded of my mother from so long ago...this kind of love and warmth...

I finally bring myself to let go over her, looking into her golden eyes. "I'm ready to continue. I promise." She nods and lets me go slowly.

"We'll continue, then...focus your chakra into your left arm."

I do as she says. Focusing...and then in a cloud of smoke, a red snake appears. It's the size of a man, from what I can estimate, and the scales make it look like a piece of twisted rope.

"Empress!" he says in a booming, manly voice. His mouth does not move, but I can hear him clearly.

"Yes, 'tis I. You have new orders from today...you are now to serve my little sister whenever she calls for you."

"Of course, Empress!"

"This is a good man. His name is Crim. He has some of the strongest jaws in the kingdom, and can take a hold of just about anything. With him, you can grab hold of objects and pull them towards you in one swift motion. He can also take hold of obstacles and stationary objects, to pull you towards them quickly. This means that you can redirect yourself in midair if need be, for example."

"I shall bend and twist to your will, Princess!" he says to me.

"Thank you. I am in your care," I say to him with a bow.

"Until the next, Crim. May heaven watch over you." He disappears soon after. "Now you have another special technique at your disposal, as well as a new way to access your summoning contract. Can you picture us in your mind?"

"..." I close my eyes and concentrate. I can see a man with windswept red hair and muscular arms, dressed in red. That must be Crim. I also see Midori-nee clearly, smiling warmly at me. "Yes."

"Good! Then we're done with everything for now. Just a bit of exercise, and then we'll rest for the remainder of the day. Lili, you have done so well. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Midori-nee."

"Oh, darling. Anything for you."

I give her the smile she likes so much, pure and true.

Two days seems to be enough at once for now, but we're going to make arrangements to stay longer over the next few weeks.

I hug Midori and almost don't want to let go, even though I will be back soom. Luna has a conversation with her that I stay away from. Luna seems flustered by what's happening. She says nothing as she walks to my side...we head home together in silence.

But it's obvious. Even I can tell that Midori has taken a great liking to her.

"..."

I want it to happen. They would be the most beautiful couple.