Scarlet Justice - ep. 17
"Teamwork"
From a time that seems like years ago, Midori made a promise to me that I would learn certain techniques as soon as I got up to speed. And in the gap between my graduation and today, I was able to take hold of two of them, one coming out better than the other. As a result, my tongue has become stronger than before, and a bit more flexible. Immediate implications of this change are obvious. I am not at 'that' point yet, clearly, but...well, I can muse on it later. For now, it's time for business.
"The skill you're learning here is called Jacobson's Eye."
Midori's voice echoes through my head as I review my ability.
"It's a serpentine technique in form and in function. By tasting the atmosphere around you with your tongue, and objects as well, you can detect scents and chakra signatures. The information you collect can be used to track targets, identify obstacles, and even navigate without the aid of your other senses."
The result of this is a plain picture of the world around me, painted in my mind's eye as the technique activates. Darkness filled up by solid white lines to make up people, places, and things. And to help me move forward, small paths of light will trail the objects I choose to focus on and track. Right now, the technique isn't terribly strong. Midori says that it will mold itself to my desired shape as I continually use it, and it grows more and more powerful.
The second technique is already fully realized, but will take a lot of time to gain control of and eventually master. But the boon there is that it doesn't require any of the five senses to use...
Right. We have less than three hours. Time to work.
"There's no need to worry," I announce after coming out of my own world. "I'll handle the first part of this mission. Please make room."
Hinata nods and steps back, Shino following suit. I concentrate, and then quickly weave several unnecessary handseals before clapping my hands together.
"Ninja Art! Indomitable Special Tracking Technique: The Eye of Jacobson!"
"Oh...!"
"..."
I walk forward and pick up a rock, then lick it once. Success.
"Ah, it worked."
"Kobayashi...so this is the true reach of your power?" Shino asks.
"It's nothing special." It really isn't. It's just a tracking technique and I was having fun with that silly naming scheme.
"Hm." Shino nods. "I see...downplaying your ability. A sound strategy."
"..." I look over to Hinata, who seems mesmerized for some reason.
"W-wow...so that's an elite shinobi technique..."
"..." She fell for it, too. She really is easy to bully.
I sigh and close my eyes to concentrate, entering the black and white world. I can visualize Kurenai's path...it's a little distorted due to my inexperience, but I have the direction that she's started off in.
"Hinata, Shino. This way."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
They willingly follow me to the northeast as I continue along the thin trail. It waves back and forth in front of me, but I have the general direction still in hand. With more work, I can easily use this technique to pick a needle out of a haystack...but right now, this one is still in its infancy. The trail gets cold, and I sweep the earth with one finger as I move, licking at it.
Kurenai's signature has faded off around this area. Foot traffic is low, and there are several small shops in the vicinity. Trying to throw us off, then?
"..."
Oh, she really is good. She planned this out from the very beginning and played her part to perfection. An early meeting in a comfortable place, quickly broken off. Tea and breakfast, followed by light conversation to lower our guards. Then suddenly springing the mission on us mid-conversation. Hinata was too busy to memorize her chakra network with the Byakugan, and Shino wouldn't be able to use his insects in time - especially since she sat on the opposite side of the table on purpose.
But this technique, and my affiliation with the snakes...this is your small advantage. I will have to leverage it as best I can. But I can't do it alone, even if everyone calls me a genius.
Another thing comes to me, that will make this more difficult. "She didn't say anything about staying put," I point out to my teammates.
"I see," Shino replies. "So we also have to put her in an inescapable position."
"That's a lot," Hinata says quietly. "Is...it possible for us?"
"I would say so," I reply to her. "We're comrades that can work together to solve any problem. We should figure out our next move." The entire time, I've been concentrating and tasting the air as we walk around. Barely anything...all I know is that she's around here somewhere and hiding, but that might not be the case. She could be closer to the barbeque place by now. But I'm familiar with her chakra and quite pleasant scent by now.
Thirty minutes have passed. There's still some time left to go.
We have options. We can head back to the shop to regroup. But that would waste more time and might not lead to anything good. We can manually search the area for Kurenai...my tracking skill might bring up something, but it seems unlikely. She's erased herself pretty well, likely in anticipation of Shino's insects. The locals could help, but she'd probably take on a disguise to shut that down. And we can search closer to the end goal, but that runs back into the problem of the first option, taking up too much time.
Shino? He could help, but a cloud of insects would be too obvious, and she would be on guard for that.
"..."
But...there is something that she can't stop, no matter how hard she tries. The low foot traffic I noted earlier plays right into our hands. I walk closer to Hinata.
"There's something I want you to do for me."
"Ah...okay. What is it?" she asks eagerly. I smile and lean closer to her.
"I'll need you to use those eyes of yours...sensei should be here somewhere," I whisper. "Walk slowly to where you think she might be. Do you trust me?"
"Yes," she whispers back.
"I'm happy that you do. Let's begin."
As I pull away, I see that her eyes have brightened as her bloodline ability activates. The low traffic should help her find Kurenai...it won't be hard to pick up on an adult like her as it is, on top of being a kunoichi.
"Lili...it's the first building down the road with glass doors. I think...it's her. She seems like she's sitting down."
"There are probably a couple of different ways she can escape," I say without turning. Shino is turned in another direction, quick as ever to adapt. "In case she can see you, don't use your bloodline limit once you get close."
"Yes, understood." Hinata starts to walk towards Kurenai's location. Shino and I start to move in different directions. Finding her is the first part, catching her is the next. We have to be precise with our next few moves, now that Hinata is moving alone.
"Shino, I'll leave this part to you. Please have your insects spread out for now."
"Understood." I can hear a slight buzzing as the bugs take off. Activating my technique again, I can faintly note that Kurenai is on the move. Hinata, who I can also see, has stopped in front of the shop.
Time to move.
I loop around back towards the shop front and see that Kurenai has already walked past Hinata. I reflexively focus downwards, though my ability has already told me enough: there's no shadow beneath her, and it's a clone. Hinata starts towards a cloaked figure and attacks, but it jumps away quickly to a rooftop.
"Not bad."
I draw a kunai - these real ones feel ever so slightly different than the academy ones - and clash with the one in the 'stranger's' hand. Hinata's open palm strike is deflected as well, and she's driven back by a kick that she barely blocks.
"But your moves are predictable. Those insects? They won't reach me," Kurenai says as she body flickers through the wave of insects approaching from below us. With a quick movement, she throws a shuriken behind her head that lands right at Shino's feet.
"Is that all you have? Listen, don't play around...come at me with a better effort next time, or you're done for."
She uses a smoke bomb to escape my sight. Bad luck. Seems that we've failed...
Time to try again.
"Lili...here. I think this will help us end it..."
"?" What does Hinata mean by...wait. I understand what she means and flick my tongue along her palm. That's definitely Kurenai, and her path has solidified completely in my mind. We're locked in.
"Did you think of this before?" I ask.
"Y-yeah...I figured that if I could at least touch Kurenai-sensei, you could use that to your advantage..." And she's been worrying about her ability...figuring out my technique and then thinking about the best way to exploit it is something very clever. Though...I wonder if something like that happened only because it was me...
"I'll have to do better next time with an ambush," Shino says as he joins us on the roof. "My apologies, Kobayashi."
"It's fine. That wasn't your fault, and we've made up more than enough ground thanks to Hinata. I don't think she knows about my technique yet, so we should hunt her down. Ready!"
"Ready!" they both reply. We take off across town, now hot on Kurenai's trail. It takes a bit before we manage to catch up, but we're soon within range.
"I can see her," Hinata says. "She's continuing to move at high speed..."
So she's taking us seriously now. Fine by me.
"We've almost caught up. Should we move and attack her head on?" Shino asks.
I look at the timepiece on the inside of my wrist briefly. Two hours left. We can be cautious as long as we keep in range. But we can also try to end this now, before we get worn down by the chase.
"Hm." Easy solution, then. We'll surround her and then close in. "I'll go on ahead. Both of you surround her and then start moving inwards."
"I have a plan that I want to set in motion," Shino says.
"Fine with me. Hinata?"
"I feel the same...let's try it," she says.
We come together to talk, then quickly separate. I nod to my comrades and then accelerate ahead, making sure that I'm well out in front of Kurenai as I move. She takes note of me and swivels her head to note Shino and Hinata closing distance. I use my technique to measure out everyone's paths. They get close enough and I spin around, jumping off the nearest roof and towards Kurenai as she lands on another one nearby. I throw several senbon and she deflects them all, Hinata taking the chance to jump in from my right to start her taijutsu. Kurenai quickly side steps her attack and is aware of Shino, who starts to use his insects. She body flickers towards him, seeming to close the gap before he can respond.
"!"
She suddenly stops and throws a shuriken quickly, dispersing the insect clone.
"Nice try!"
Another swarm of insects tries to surround her, but she quickly jumps to another roof - towards me. I rush forward and engage, but she dispatches me with a quick knee-
"What...?"
-and I explode into a cloud of insects. She evades backwards, running into Shino. He moves in a familiar stance, and I see Kurenai's eyes widen in realization. It's too late for her; 'Shino' transforms back into Hinata tags her arm with a precise palm strike. The insects catch up to drain her chakra.
Kurenai jumps to the ground, and the insects leave her as she gasps for air.
"Tch...that was a pretty good trap. But you let up too soon, kids...it's not over yet." She's right, Shino didn't drain her far enough. Even if she's weakened, Kurenai is still an elite soldier, enough to overwhelm one of us genin with pure strength.
She grits her teeth. "You first."
"!"
She accelerates towards Shino and Hinata lets out a panicked gasp - no mistake, that's the real one. And he's not nearly fast enough to get out of the way. If Kurenai gets him, then there's every chance she will get away afterwards, and we won't have the manpower to take her down.
I'm fast enough. I have to be. I can get there...but I can't do much after that. I'll be at her mercy.
"..."
Shino is putting on a cool face, but I know he must be panicking.
Right. It's decided.
"Hinata, move ahead."
I push chakra through my body and take off, meeting Kurenai right at the point of impact. I desperately clash my kunai against hers, throwing off her attack and knocking over Shino. My body hits the ground hard and I wince, enough for her to recover and start a takedown...
"Y-yield, sensei..."
...but my faith is rewarded. Shino surrounds Kurenai with insects, and Hinata has her fingers pressed into Kurenai's back before she can advance towards me.
"..." Kurenai grimaces and sighs before raising her hands. Shino's insects retreat, and Hinata backs away. "You brats really are good, huh..."
"Something like that," I reply. I grab onto my sensei's hand as she extends it, and pull myself up.
"Why do that, Lili?" she asks. I know what she's getting at.
"We're comrades that can do anything we put our minds to. And I saw my comrade in trouble...I had faith in Shino and Hinata. With their abilities, even if I was taken out they could coordinate and finish the mission. I felt better served in that situation as a decoy, drawing attention so that they could prepare themselves. As soon as I made my move, they understood my intentions."
"When I saw Kobayashi coming towards me, in an attempt to intercept you, sensei...that said enough to me," Shino says.
"Yeah...w-we knew that we only had this chance left if anything went wrong. Lili put herself at one end...trusting us with the other," Hinata finishes.
"What the hell...haha. I thought I would have to show you guys how to work together as a team, but you figured it out in an hour or two. So much for that, eh," Kurenai says with a smile.
"Hinata and Kobayashi have a high synergy rate," Shino points out.
"He's not wrong. And it's easy to be motivated by someone so cute," I say with a straight face. Hinata predictably blushes at that.
"Well, we've finished with time to spare...let's head to lunch. I'm treating you guys as promised, and I'll have your extra reward ready later, promise." She helps dust me off and I do the same for her. We start on our way at a normal pace this time.
Shino is as cool and aloof as always. Hinata looks to be her timid self, but her face is bright with confidence. And Kurenai, our sensei from here on, carries herself elegantly. I want to know more about her, but I think that can wait a while longer. And Luna will have much to tell me after their meeting.
So, Shino it is.
"Hoi, Shino."
I catch up and walk beside him. He pushes up his glasses with one finger.
"You're sure that you want to talk to me?"
"We're teammates now," I point out.
"Yes, but even so...we don't necessarily have to interact beyond missions, or like each other."
"Mm." A pragmatist, then. Interesting.
"But I appreciate your efforts. What did you want to talk about, Kobayashi?"
Or maybe he's just a difficult guy. "Tell me about your journey to become a shinobi. Are you also an elite?"
"Probably. My father is the head of the Aburame Clan."
"Ah. So you might be the next head."
"It's his intention. What do you mean by 'too'? Are you royalty?"
"Just wealthy. My sister is, but we're not blood-related."
"That sounds like a television drama."
I roll my eyes. "You really are difficult to deal with."
"It's a lot like a woman to say such a thing. My mother is the same."
"Is she also a shinobi?" I ask.
"No. She's a housewife. She married into the clan and doesn't mind it at all. Apparently insects have always interested her."
I think on that a moment. "I suppose making love to a bug person would be difficult otherwise."
"I don't know why you would think that. Are you a pervert?" he asks.
I pout at that. "That's a rude question. I'm simply curious and like to explore sexual topics sometimes."
"When you said Hinata was cute, did you mean that?"
"I was teasing her, but those are my real feelings as well. She really is cute," I say. "But she's very much in love with someone else. I'm supporting her all the way. This bond we have now...it's more than enough for me."
"That means you would try and seduce her in another situation."
"Well, yes. Why wouldn't I? I said it clearly earlier, I like girls."
"It could be a phase," he counters.
"No," I reply. "Women are nice and soft and beautiful. I'm not interested in men. Not even Sasuke, before you try and ask. I'd like to travel the world and get myself a good wife."
"Hm."
"What, you're not going to say something like 'that's really simple minded', or something?" I ask him.
"Well...there is that, yes." Rude. "But where does becoming a shinobi fit into this? I was born into this life, and you weren't."
I run a hand through my hair. "Strength controls everything. Don't be foolish...you need power to survive in any world, whether it's that of the rich, or that of shinobi. And this opportunity requires strength of all kinds. That is why I pursue it." I sigh.
"Yes...I've heard that a lot."
"You really are annoying."
"Yes, I've heard that as well."
"I like you."
He freezes up and looks at me. "I...pardon?"
"I like you, Shino," I repeat with sincerity. "You're a good person."
"Why would you say something like that?" he asks, regaining his composure. "As I said, you have no need to try and soften me up. As long as we perform together on missions competently-"
"There are...very few people in this world to trust. Very few to bond with. Very few people that care for others. I saw it, Shino. When I took that blow for you earlier...you were concerned for me. You worried, more than you did about your own well being."
"..." He's quiet. "Is this from when Sasuke..."
"My world changed from that point on," I say.
"I'm sorry."
"Please, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault. You see, I was right." I give him a smile. "You're really a good guy."
"I can see why Hinata looks at you the way she does. She's changed, especially since we left the Academy." He looks at me again. "And you have...a much softer side than I imagined. For better or for worse, you see things as they are in the world. You...don't really like people. So I suppose that being liked by you is important."
"..."
"What is it?" he asks.
"The way you talk isn't...accessible," I explain gently. "You're lucky that you have Hinata and I as teammates. And Kurenai as your sensei."
"Hmph."
"Also...something important for you."
"Yes?"
I flip my hair backwards, over my shoulder. "If you're going to use your insects often, be sure to withdraw and reapply them as needed. I take baths daily and wash my hair."
"I'll keep that in mind for the future. Thank you. We're at our destination." He turns to face me squarely. "I know you have more things to tell me about your past. Is it painful?"
"Yes," I say to him. "I will reveal all to you in time, Shino."
"Fine. I can live with that."
I nod and enter the restaurant ahead of him.