Scarlet Justice - ep. 02
"All Green"

I move down the steps towards the entourage, which comes to a stop at the woman's command. She produces a fan as I walk forward. I'm certainly nervous. But I feel as if I need to do this.

Her eyes lock onto me, finally. A strange pulse...the same as the one I felt when holding the garden snake. Why is that? I can't be sure...it's nothing I can figure out right away.

"Lovely day, is it not?" she says as she steps away from the bodyguards. Her voice is refreshingly cool and clear...it feels like velvet, but for my ears. I didn't think I could be drawn to her more. Her figure is even more amazing up close...my stepmother dismissively called it a 'child-bearing frame', in reference to Luna at least, in places where she couldn't hear. I imagine this woman, whoever she might be, would give her fits as well. She looks like she's stepped out of a magazine...yes. If there were goddesses on Earth, she would be one of them.

I am thinking heavily on this, aren't I. How curious.

In response to her question, I politely nod. She seems amused from behind her fan.

"My friend you helped yesterday reported your kindness, and it found its way to me. He was grateful, you know? It had been a long journey and he was hungry."

"Mister Snake," I say quietly. But...what could that mean?

"Yes, that's right. My name is Midoriko Ryuuchi. And you must be Miss Lilith, correct? I actually did come to see you, but...well, that wouldn't be believable to most at first blush. It would also be most rude to ignore the owners of this fine estate, so I came to deliver my greetings. I live a short distance up the road."

"Father is working," I reply. "Mother is home, in her study."

"Hm. Rothschild, wasn't it? Married into a rich family once more, so...it's Kobayashi now. Yes?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Mm. You're a very obedient girl. Only speaking when spoken to, and giving little away. Well done. But yes...I do have important matters to discuss with you, my darling. I will return to you after greeting your stepmother, so if you would wait for me..."

"Yes. I will."

"Lovely. I shall be off. Until then, Miss Lilith."

"Goodbye, Lady Ryuuchi."

She smiles and pats me gently on the head before moving in. I watch her and the sway of her hips as she leaves, before deciding to wait in the flower garden a while.

Midoriko...very much reminds me of a snake. But not in a bad way at all.

An hour passes. Midoriko and her mischievous smile find me among the blossoming flowers. A whimsical feeling as she looks me over, lilies growing in the beds just behind her.

"Emi is a terribly boring woman. Then again, she does have a terribly boring husband. No offense meant to you, my dear."

She hides her amused face behind her fan. It seems she was entertained by her talk with my stepmother.

"I promised earlier. Do you still want to hear it? The secret I have for you..."

Her golden eyes feel like they're reaching into me. I slowly nod.

"You must know by now. I am not human. I am...a snake."

She lowers her fan, and I can see her grinning at me with sharp, pointed teeth. Strange. Unnatural.

Entirely like me.

I feel a weight coming down on me and it makes me shake and sweat. She is looking down on me. Crushing me slowly, on a whim. It would be so easy for her to make me disappear. Fear. I can feel fear but I can't bring myself to move, to run away. I wonder if I might die here, if I might be devoured in the next moment.

No. She wouldn't. I...somehow know.

"Are you afraid?"

I should be. I should be, and I might be, but I feel more awe than anything as I look up at her, at her terrifying and beautiful form. I shake my head, slowly.

"Hmhmhm...yes. I can see it now. You really are the one."

The pressure fades away. I let out a breath and relax, finally.

"You have a very strong affinity," Midoriko says. "And I've heard that you will be training to become a kunoichi soon?"

I nod. She gets to her knees, in the grass, and wipes my face gently with a cloth. Not even thinking about the expensive silk and how it might be stained by the grass.

"I am truly sorry, darling. I got too excited...it's been so long since someone in this world has been such a suitable candidate. Perhaps you could become the next true Sage...mm, but don't worry about those details just yet. First, you must become a splendid shinobi. Then, you may ascend further. You can recall the voices in your head, and the feelings in your heart, yes? They are, and always have been, real."

I don't know what to say. Still kneeling, she flicks her wrist and produces a knife from her sleeve, flipping it open.

"This is going to be sudden...but I must test you, just a bit more." She twirls the knife in her hand while looking at me. "I want you to make a contract with me."

She's right. It is sudden.

"You only have a short time to learn basic skills before you enter the Shinobi Academy. I know you humans are capable of extraordinary things if you put your minds to it...but I say, why not make it easier on yourself?" Midoriko smiles. "Make a pact with me, dear Lilith. I will teach you everything I know, and send you on your way to becoming a fine, fine shinobi."

The knife stops spinning. She raises it to her lips and runs her tongue across the blade.

My mind screams danger.

But my heart is enraptured. This woman has captured me in her lovely, silken web. We have only just met. But she wants me to make a contract with her, with the snakes. I do like snakes. My stepmother doesn't.

And my father...his vote doesn't count.

"Miss...Midoriko." I breathe her name out, unsure of what to do, of what to feel right away. I look into her golden eyes and find myself settling, floating gently towards an answer as my heart beats fast.

I know what I must do.

I will seal the contract.

For nothing else makes sense.

"Yes," I say quietly. "Yes...I will sign the contract with you, Lady Ryuuchi."

"Lovely. Feel free to call me by name from now on. Midori is very much fine, you know."

"Then...then..." I feel myself blushing. "Midori-nee. Is..that fine?"

"Of course~!" she says, with her wide and dangerous grin. I grin back at her, forgetting my restraint and showing her the smile that everyone hated so much. "Ah, what a beautiful smile. I know that it's misunderstood by everyone else. That's very much fine, my dear Lili. You can share it with me, and nobody else."

Midori gently brings me closer, her hand on the back of my neck. I already trust her so much. The knife blade goes across my neck and bites into my skin.

"Just a small bit of blood, now..." Her hands blur into a strange set of patterns before a scroll appears out of thin air. She sets it down, then uses the knife to cut into skin on her neck, drawing her blood. Her fingers move across the wound, and she presses her bloodied fingers against the wound on my neck, mixing our blood together. She opens the scroll, and then traces a pattern onto it before it immediately disappears.

"Normally, the summoner would sign it. But...I wanted to make sure there were some special conditions for the two of us. I wouldn't want to lose track of you, you know? With this type, you can call on me whenever you need me. Nepotism does have its perks~"

"I see..."

Midori licks the knife clean of blood before closing it and handing it to me. It has gold handles and seems to be finely crafted. "It's a butterfly knife. When you get good enough, I will gift you another. Practice opening and closing it from time to time." She licks her finger and presses it against my wound...I feel like the cut was never made. Her own has already healed, and she wipes away the blood on both of us with a spare cloth.

"No sense in worrying Emi. Speaking of her...I'll inform her that I happen to know of a good trainer, and that way we can have all of the sessions we need. I'll keep my promise to you, and make you into the best shinobi you can be."

"Thank you," I say sincerely.

"Anything for you, my dear little sister," Midori says with a smile. "Now, head up to your room for me and rest. I will see you soon."

"Yes." I hurry at her command and do as she says, like it's entirely natural. Inside and up the stairs to my room, without a second thought.

I know all of this is real, but everything...everything is happening so fast. I don't feel overwhelmed, but amazed at what is going on.

I reach my room, and Luna is fixing up my bed neatly...so I hide the knife behind my back and clear my throat, to get her attention.

"Oh! Miss Lilith...I-I was just making up your bed for you. I...I'm done here, so...I...will be going. Please, don't let me disturb you." Luna gives me a timid smile before starting to hurry out.

But it doesn't escape my notice...the fact that the window is open. The same window that overlooks the flower garden where I was just standing with Midori earlier.

It's possible that she saw something. That she saw everything.

"Luna."

"Yes, Miss Lilith?" She's barely made it past the door before turning around to face me. She plays with her hands and her gaze darts away from mine.

"The window is open."

"I...yes, I just thought that the room needed air, and...and um..."

"Luna...what was it you saw in the yard?"

She sniffles loudly before tears come to her eyes. "I...I saw everything. I know it was wrong to watch, to spy on you two like that. But I was so enraptured that I simply couldn't look away, and...please, forgive me. I promise not to tell anyone about your illicit relationship..."

"?" Illicit? She means forbidden? What is?

"It's just that watching two girls like that...I mean..."

What...is she saying? Is she implying something? Oh, she's blushing. It has to be something lewd, then.

"A-anyways, I promise not to tell a soul! I'll do anything to prove it! Anything..."

I am starting to understand what it is she's saying.

"It's not what you think. Come here," I say. Luna nods and does as she's told. We sit on my bed together, and I explain what went on a while ago.

In my haste to explain, I revealed Midori's secret. Bothersome. But too late to take back now.

"Ah? So it wasn't something like that?"

"No. We're only sisters now," I say.

"Hm. Is it...sister play...?" Luna muses.

"No," I reply firmly.

"I-I see..." She sighs. "Well, I am a bit jealous that you got to be so intimate with her first. Women like Lady Midoriko...they're really my type, you see..."

So Luna is into women with outrageous figures, like she has. Is this a form of narcissism? I wonder a bit about that.

"So you're a lesbian pervert?" I ask.

She waves a hand at me. "I'm a lesbian. Not the other part. Please keep it from Mistress Emi...I don't know what she would think of it."

I actually think it would remove a lot of the tension from the mansion if my stepmother knew that Luna had no interest in men at all. But I nod anyways and vow to keep her secret until the promised time. Luna has been good to me...this much as a service is nothing in comparison.

"Do...you think she likes girls, too?"

I tilt my head in thought. It's a valid question. "I'm not quite sure. Can snakes also be lesbians?"

Luna crosses her arms in thought. "I don't know either. She's really a snake? A non human?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Resonance," I answer plainly. It's the truth, at least.

"Hm. What's that in your hand?" she asks.

"A gift from Midori-nee. It's a butterfly knife." I present the knife to Luna and she takes it from my hand. Then she twirls it around rapidly like she's had possession of it her entire life. She tosses it up and down, spins it around a finger, and passes it back and forth between her hands before closing it.

"Papa has a collection of knives like this. He taught me when I was young in case I needed to defend myself, and it's come in handy. See," she says as she lifts her skirt for me. There are two holsters strapped to her thighs, just below her frilly garters. "I keep them here, just in case. Of course, neither the Master or Mistress know...I'm asking you to keep a lot hidden from them, aren't I? I feel so embarrassed..."

An idea pops into my head as she hands the closed knife back to me.

Yes. It will do.

"Live with me when I go to become a ninja," I say firmly.

"Really? Me?" she says, surprised.

"Yes." I give her my most serious, convincing look. Her face lights up and she smothers me in a hug.

"I'll be sure to watch over you with all that I have, then. My life is yours...thank you for choosing me, Miss Lilith."

I nod towards her. "I will be in your care." A pause. "Please don't do anything too perverted in the Hidden Leaf."

Luna frowns and puffs up her cheeks at that.