[log] I'm All Ears [Chiriku, Asuka]
As much as Chiriku might have liked to be allowed to monopolize Asuka's time for the duration of her visit, she knew that Asuka had a job to do and she could not expect Asuka to just drop everything for her. Hadn't she still needed to perform her own duties when Asuka had come to the temple four years ago? Chiriku's duties simply kept her in the temple and the grounds surrounding it. Asuka's did not. And Chiriku knew how good a shinobi Asuka was, both from seeing her in action, and from the harmless bits of information from missions she had had over the years. So for Asuka to be called to the Hokage's office probably meant there was a mission for her now that she had recovered from the previous - and it must mean it was important. And in the shinobi world, what little Chiriku admittedly knew of it, important generally equated dangerous.
Chiriku wouldn't be human if she wasn't jealous of Konoha's claim on her. Previous claim, to boot. But she didn't begrudge Asuka, or the Hokage who commanded her, or the village who needed her. To do so would mean it was time to retire. Being a shinobi was Asuka's calling, and while Chiriku might not always like that, she accepted it. After all, if Asuka hadn't chosen to become a shinobi in the first place, they never would have met.
Still didn't mean Chiriku wasn't privately jealous. Or that she worried about her friend. Her late sensei had been one of the few shinobi who had managed to survive his chosen career and retired to serve in the monastary. Chiriku had seen the scars that marked his body, and she had seen the shadows and the sorrows in his eyes that the years of fighting and killing and being a tool had put there.
She had seen the scars on Asuka's body. One didn't serve the Daimyo for a year without becoming as intimate with one's partner as one could before crossing a line. That included patching each other up after a battle. Chiriku had gotten her first real battlescars that year. The kind that had they been worse or a centimeter or two to the side, might have killed her. The robes covered them and the other monks at the temple (save the ones specializing in healing) had no knowledge of them.
She had seen the shadows in Asuka's eyes, too. Only when she had shown up on Asuka's doorstep had she learned that back at age twenty-four, Asuka's eyes had been relatively clear. Asuka was a little better at hiding them now, but the shadows were thicker.
A lot of Chiriku's private prayers were for Asuka, that she might pull through whatever the world (or the Hokage) threw at her. She wanted to see that Asuka was given the chance to retire, too.
She walked down a thoroughfare wider than the average street, smiling at people who noticed her and acknowledging them back. She was amazed at how surprised people could be over her presence. Not because of who she was but what she was - she had learned the monks caring for the local shrine didn't make themselves particularly available to the people of this village. If they want guidance, Houshi-sama, they know where we are, the abbot had said.
Which was really the wrong thing to say, all things considered.
Shinobi don't just need guidance, Chiriku had answered sharply. And trust me, the last place they will go for it is a monk. They need to know when they have a ready ear. Yes, they are private people, she had continued, overriding any feeble attempts at argument before they could be voiced, and chances are they won't take you up on the offer, but the most important thing is for them to know you are there, you are accessible, and that you will listen. They may not want your advice or opinions. You yourself may not understand just what it is they really go through. Understanding is not required. Presence is.
The abbot's face reddened, both from shame from being scolded and haughty pride at being lectured in front of his subordinates. Houshi-sama, I know what you are trying to say, but please understand that shinobi are a different breed from everyone else. They are private, as you said, but they take that habit to the extreme. We dare not infringe upon that.
Chiriku hadn't responded immediately. She'd just let the silence stretch and strain until the other monks were all fidgeting in small ways, until the air was thick enough with tension one would have needed an axe to cut it.
My dear lord abbot, she began in a voice that was so quiet one had to strain to hear her and so devoid of inflection that she might as well have been shouting for all the contempt her tone held, I see you have forgotten one very important fact about me. I am a member of the Daimyo's guard. I have seen a slice of shinobi life that few non-shinobi get to see, or would even want to see. I do not live around shinobi, therefore you all should be the ones more knowledgable than I. But it seems you have mewed yourselves up away from the very people who need you.
She'd left them chewing on that before sweeping from the shrine lest she invite them to spar. And when one's robes didn't touch the floor, sweeping away from someone was something that could only be described as sheer talent.
The problem at the shrine was something she was going to have to deal with. If it took reassigning people, so be it. The abbot was being too casual with his responsibilities here in her opinion, and though Chiriku was biased (the two most important people in her life were shinobi, after all), she also knew that the residents of Konoha were the backbone to the country's army. A civilian army did exist, but that existed more for show and lesser squabbles. The true military might lay in Konoha. And those people (not tools; she didn't give a rodent's behind that shinobi were supposed to think of themselves only as weapons whilst on duty) needed to know that other people cared and were concerned for their well-being, even if not directly involved in their lives. She knew the effect she'd had on Asuka over the years, and while she could hardly request the monks personally befriend the shinobi, again it was presence that mattered.
She allowed herself a quiet sigh when she thought no one was looking, then looked up and was basically herself: friendly and chatty without being overbearing, occasionally stopping a shinobi who looked especially worn to personally thank them for what they did, and doing so quickly but without rushing so the shinobi in question would not be delayed long. Some grunted, a few said nothing but nodded, and some looked like something had lifted (even if only a little) and thanked her for her interest. And all of that was done without her touching them unless they offered first as Asuka had taught her not to touch a shinobi, even something as innocuous as a brush of the arm, lest they respond out of reflex.
As nice as it was to have all that time off due to medical leave, after a while one got bored and itching to start moving again. Thankfully, though, this last trip to the hospital declared her healthy enough to start training and going on missions again. Which meant no more boredom, no more lolling around the house trying to think of things to do, and... well, no more hanging out with Chiriku, even though technically they really hadn't had much of a chance to do that. Things had kept coming up, the older woman had her own Monkly Duties to take care of at the local temple, and now... well, now there was a mission.
Though she hadn't exactly been pleased to immediately get redirected to the Hokage's office after getting signed off leave (hello, time to train back up to speed, please?), Asuka could not have been more pleased by the actual details of the mission. Not more patrol, not another mission from hell, but a mission to track down missing-nin. Specifically Akatsuki.
That woman had been identified as Akatsuki. And now that she was officially part of the tracking parties, Asuka could get her hands on the information she would have needed to pull rank to get before... and would be one of the first people to know when word of her whereabouts came back to Konoha. The gods of war were smiling on her today.
Third time's the charm.
But that could all wait for later. Asuka was a patient woman when it came to her battles, after all. There were other things to take care of, information to analyze, parties to get together, and monks to keep in line. Chiriku, apparently, hadn't been lazy in her absence from the house; here she was now in the middle of town, talking to strangers like her momma never told her not to.
"Hey, you." The kunoichi skirted a group of civilian girls gawking over a display in a window to approach her friend. She'd caught the tail end of the last conversation with the departing chuunin, heading for the Hokage tower. "Saving the world, one ninja at a time?"
Chiriku stopped and turned to face Asuka. "I'm not sure, Asuka, I mean after you, one might throw up their hands in defeat," she teased good-naturedly. That was simply how their relationship worked. Always teasing, always poking fun at the other so as to not take themselves too seriously. Except when it was serious, then they would both be all business. "I was just doing what I do. I doubt anyone I've spoken to will actually open up to me, or to the monks at the shrine, but I'm glad if they know there is someone to listen if they wish to unload." Her eyes had frozen up slightly when she mentioned her brethren but quickly thawed. If Asuka hadn't been right there, no one would have seen it.
"I take it the Hokage has a new mission for you, now that you're back on your feet?" she queried as they started walking again. She preferred concrete facts to assumptions and hypotheses.
Ah, that was just Chiriku. Sweet and naive, but she wouldn't be Chiriku if she didn't have that kind of attitude. True, most ninja probably would care less, or think her a looney or soft, but even this shinobi couldn't deny her the effort. If it helped one person, it was worth all the effort she put into it.
They strolled down the main drag that ran through the center of Konoha, keeping to the side near the stores to keep out of the way of what wheeled traffic was being pulled through. The foot traffic was bad enough considering it was around noon, but considering this was Konoha, most were wise to watch where they were going and try not to bump into anyone they were passing. It was only polite, after all, when many of the citizens had a hair-trigger reaction when it came to drawing weapons.
Asuka stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jounin uniform, curling the fingers up to keep them warm. It was pretty damn frigid out here compared to inside the hospital, and it was always cold inside hospitals. "Yeah," she replied. "Guess I'm just a popular woman like that."
The cold didn't bother Chiriku all that much, though she chalked it up to the layers beneath her robes. Silk long underwear had to be one of the warmest things made. Bloody expensive, yes, but worth it. Definitely made up for the fact that she was walking around with her head uncovered and since people lost most of their body heat from their head... Yes, the long underwear was certainly an extravagance she could live with.
"Lucky you, eh?" she replied, noting her friend's discomfiture. She made a note to snoop through Asuka's drawers and see for herself what the woman had in the ways of winter clothing. Perhaps another set of long underwear was in order. Though she almost never touched it, she did have money in an account; the paycheck from the year with the Daimyo that she only touched for expenditures that weren't part of what was necessary for the temple, the monastary, and the monks therein.
"Oh yes," she replied. Her voice was cheerful in a way that normally it wouldn't be, for a mission. But then, normally she hadn't been deliberately waiting on something just like this to fall into her lap for months, so maybe it wasn't so strange after all. "Lucky indeed."
Since they were in the middle of town, there were more than just hospitals and shops and people around; there were restaurants too, and food stalls, and it was right around noon. Asuka hadn't eaten herself, not even breakfast (coffee was usually all she was interested in); it was possible Chiriku might have eaten after she left for her appointment, but there was a possibility she was hungry again. Glancing over, she asked, "You hungry? Get you something to eat."
"Sure," Chiriku answered. "Anywhere's fine; while I have been exploring I'd still wager you know the better places to eat than I would." She hadn't eaten yet today. The 'discussion' with the abbot had left her with a sour taste in her mouth. Maybe she held her monks to a higher standard than others would expect, but a monk's primary duty was to be there for the people. Not to stay within a temple and spit-shine the place. Even her own monks, the ones at the Great Temple, did rotations at the Capital and nearby settlements. Chiriku firmly believed in having monks be visible - she herself would go out on rotation, though owing to her duties she went out considerably less than the others. It had nothing to do with pride but did have to do with station - she was Houshi-sama, and she had a responsibility to her monks that equalled her responsibility to the people.
And people thought a monk's life was easy. Tsk.
.... anywhere, huh?
The grin in Asuka's voice found a place on her lips as well. If Chiriku was fine with anywhere, then obviously there was only one place to go.
"Then I know just the place," she replied, still in that cheerful vein, and took her straight to the all-you-can-eat yakiniku joint that was only a few blocks from the hospital.
She was probably going to go to hell for this, but it wasn't like she wasn't going there already. Better to make the most of it, right?
Owing that it was about lunch time, the place had its fill of patrons. But as always there were seats open, and as always the servers were pleased to see her (who wouldn't be, when she was always bringing by an Akimichi?). They were seated quickly, the grill still hot and scoured clean after the last patron had left, and the scents of grilled meat and vegetables were, to a hungry stomach, very appetizing. Or, well, to her hungry stomach. There was no accounting for Chiriku's taste after all.
"Told you I'd bring you here one day," she said smugly after the waitress had arrived with their drinks and headed off again so they could make their order.
The smell of cooked and cooking meat hit her empty stomach hard even before they entered the restaurant. But she couldn't exactly refuse; she had said "anywhere."
She should've known better. That's all that could be said. She should've known better. And she needed to remember to take care what she said around Asuka because as the current situation proved, words could be interpreted in different ways.
But that didn't stop Chiriku from glowering at her even while she was fighting to keep from going green. "Yes, you did," she answered with a light touch of annoyance. At least the menu had vegetarian options, she thought as she perused her options. Grilled veggies. Mmm. She would simply make sure her food didn't touch Asuka's and try not to cook anything in the same spots as her meat. Though the grill was tiny...
Worse come to worst she'd just have to do penance afterward.
And Asuka only smiled back in the face of her dirty look, briskly rubbing her hands together near the edge of the grill. While the windows were open to allow the inevidtable smoke to be siphoned away, it was far warmer inside than it was outside. Her hands, freezing and stiff from the cold, certainly appreciated it.
"You'll live," she replied with perhaps just the tiniest bit of sympathy. Not much, really, because as far as she was concerned, meat was for eating. Ah, monks and their strange ways. "Besides which, they more than make up for their heathen ways with the desert menu. It's on the back page."
Asuka herself wasn't much for sweets. Which was probably an oddity, especially considering how well sweet stores did in a place like Konoha, where it felt like over half the population was female (over half the ninja population was female, so there was that). But while chocolate wasn't really her thing, she did have one weakness, and that was apparent when she leaned forward on her elbows like she was sharing a secret and said, "They have a peanut butter brownie that's killer."
Chiriku smirked faintly. "Oh really~" she replied as she also leaned in. So Asuka liked peanut butter, eh? "I was hoping for some chocolate, but I'll try some of your brownie to form my own opinion."
She'd missed this, she realized. Letters were all well and good, but it was so much better to be able to spend time with a friend in person. She could relax around Asuka in ways she couldn't even with her friends at the temple. It helped that Asuka didn't see her as a monk, but as Chiriku. The same way she saw Asuka and not whatever titles or ranks the younger woman had earned over the years.
It was nice to be recognized as simply human.
She watched Asuka's eyes and was pleased to see that at least for now, the shadows had somewhat lifted. They'd never go away, Chiriku knew, but she'd take what she could get.
"So," she said as she sat back, "when do you think I could get a chance to meet your team?" She had already decided on her order and was now ready to chitchat in earnest.
Heh, here we go. She knew it would come sooner or later.
The jounin laughed in the back of her throat, not even bothering to look at the menu (she had it memorized) before pushing it to the side of their booth. "I see how it is," she replied lightly. "Coming to see all the people in Konoha except me. You sleep in my house, you eat my food, you hang out with my friends, and you leave me in the dirt. Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
With a grin, she leaned back in her seat and continued in a more serious vein: "Chouko is out of the city for an undetermined length of time. Shikako is going on this mission with me. And Inosuke's got his own things to do, but... if the two of them ever get together, at least you could see them, right?" Asuka shrugged. "It's not as easy getting together as it used to be."
Something that slightly sad, but... well, it was life. They weren't genin anymore. Hell, at least Shikako was aiming for jounin, if not Inosuke too (Chouko probably wouldn't be back in time for the exam). They weren't her responsibility anymore. And... while it might have hurt had it been an abrupt change, this leave-taking had been going on over the course of two years now. She was ready to let them go - they didn't need her anymore.
Though it didn't mean they felt the same way...
Chiriku just grinned. "Now, now, Asuka, I'm a monk. I have to look out for your spiritual well-being, and I can only do that if I get to know the people around you," she returned just as lightly. "And as one of your oldest and dearest friends--" she was getting that look in her eye... "-- I think it's appropriate to make sure you're well taken care of, since I can't be around."
She did like what she had seen so far. It meant she wouldn't have to worry so much. Not that she would stop worrying, oh no. It was too amusing to watch Asuka squirm (or see it from reading inbetween the lines) to stop any time soon.
She nodded when Asuka talked about her cell. "Well, your team's growing up and moving on. They've got more things happening in their lives, but they'll still always be your students in some ways. Sensei was always 'Sensei' to me. He would get annoyed by it, especially after I became a full monk and thus no longer technically needed a sensei, but I'm sure you understand." She looked away, smiling at a few memories that passed through her mind.
"What can you tell me about your new assignment, if anything?" she asked as she lifted her gaze back to Asuka, smile still in place.
Insert appropriate eye roll here. Chiriku and her 'soul saving.' If only there were a soul left to save. Asuka'd tried to set her straight a few times, but there was no use talking to a monk about certain things.
But ah, the mission. She just smiled to herself, contemplating what she could and could not tell the older woman. Chiriku was not a security risk, even though she did not have any sort of security ranking, but the jounin had gotten used to restricting what she could say over the years. Then again, letters were notoriously unsecure, but there was a difference between telling the person face-to-face and telling them on a piece of paper. There was more she could say here than elsewhere.
But she held on to the information as their waitress returned, notepad in had and ready to take their order. Order they did, with the request to keep a desert menu for later (Asuka did have ten more pounds she needed to gain back, after all), and it wasn't until she'd left that the kunoichi turned back to her dining partner.
"It's a tracking mission," she replied, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward on her elbows. The restaurant was busy enough that she didn't have to lower her voice too much to keep the conversation private. "High rank missing-nin. The term 'Akatsuki' ever come by your temple?"
The joviality vanished from Chiriku's eyes instantly though her facial features never shifted. She wasn't donning a mask for Asuka - rather it was for everyone else in the restaurant as eyes tended to wander and a surefire sign something was wrong was a sudden extreme change in expression. Holding onto her bemusement, she raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"Actually... it has. I've never had any direct confrontations with them, thank the gods, but I've heard things. As you said, high-rank missing-nin. Worse, organized and methodic, though intentions are unknown. Their distinct robes, on the other hand, are known." She reached up and casually rubbed her eye. Asuka was tracking them... Dammitt, she wasn't Intel. The only reason Asuka would be tracking them would be to kill them.
Oh, so she did know the term. And the outfit. Good, very good. At least from her side. It meant she would have to explain less in public, and it also meant that if Chiriku heard tell of them...
"I'm sure if you heard any rumors of them back home, you'll let me know, right?" Asuka asked the question as a friend to a friend, but there was no denying that predatory look in her eye. At least she wasn't grinning as widely as she had once been, though it had not yet left her lips. "Once you do head home, of course. This isn't going to be an over-night mission. Likely it'll be keeping me busy for months, if not longer. They're a little hard to keep track of."
That predatory look did not bode well. For Asuka or for the Akatsuki, Chiriku couldn't say. But she didn't like how eager Asuka was looking. Akatsuki were people to avoid if one could. Granted, Asuka had been assigned this, but if Chiriku's instincts were correct, the jounin would've gone hunting on her own.
But why?
The waitress arrived with their food and after she'd gone, Chiriku had to force herself to not pick at her food, to instead use the chopsticks with the same natural grace to place the cuts of vegetables on the grill.
"There's a rumor," she began, pitching her voice to match Asuka's volume while forcing the inconsequential tone, "that began filtering down the others not long before I came here." The only others Chiriku could have meant were the rest of the Twelve. "It seems the scarlet and sable have been glimpsed before the sudden disappearance of someone known to have a high bounty on them. We all have our price, Asuka." Her own head was worth a good thirty million. Asuka's was nearly three times as much.
Which made Chiriku's traversing the country, without escort, a very rather stupid unsafe choice no matter what training she had received.
... that was not Sasoriza's MO, nor Itae and the Hoshigaki's. Therefore, this rumor must refer to other Akatsuki members. It was still a dangerous rumour, though.
Asuka's expression shifted from predatory to alert; anything that was a danger to the Twelve was something to be wary of indeed. She was not nearly so interested in taking care of her movements, though - while Chiriku kept her gestures normal, Asuka's hand paused in the process of laying a sliver of chicken on the grill.
"We're not down to eleven, are we?" she asked, sharply. If they were and it could conclusively be tied back to Akatsuki, then Tsurude would need to know...
"No." However, the unspoken Not yet hung heavy in the air. "They haven't struck so high. Right now we've been keeping it to ourselves, trying to find out more." Chiriku chuckled softly. "You know me, I'm the one that basically stores the knowledge for the whole group." Because of all of them, Chiriku was honestly the most stationary and the easiest to get ahold of.
"I hope you'll keep me in the know of what you find, if you can." She poked the bite-size piece of pepper with her chopsticks before lifting it from the grill and dunking it in sauce. Lifting it, she let the excess drip off then popped it in her mouth.
Tension clearly drained away at that confirmation that none of the Twelve had been taken down, and she turned her attention back to her food. It was true enough that if something had happened, word would have gotten to her, but while Chiriku was the easiest to get a hold of, Asuka was no doubt the most difficult to get ahold of. Not that they couldn't just go straight to Tsurude and leave any information with him - and they ought to, as he was her employer - but the Daimyo's Twelve tended to keep to themselves. And when only one of them was an officially active ninja, it did make sense that the ins and outs of Konoha wouldn't be apparent to them.
Still and all. If that was a pair of Akatsuki that really was hunting down high-priced bounties, then they might be the easiest to find. Just keep tags on all the bounties in Konoha (herself and Chiriku included), and eventually they'd come calling.
But those weren't the ones she was interested in. No, as far as Asuka was concerned, there was a priority in the order of Akatsuki she was going after. She'd just pass this information on and see to it later.
"If they come after me, I'll be sure to let you know." She flipped the thinly sliced meat to make sure it had been cooked all the way through, then removed it to eat. "As for the other three I'm aware of, their modi operandorum don't involve bounties. So I'm certain you'll be safe there. The likelihood they'll come knocking is quite slim."
Chiriku's look had honest amusement to it now. "Even if they did, I'm certain I can take care of myself." She ate more of her food without thinking as her thoughts had turned inward. She wanted to have a serious discussion with Asuka about this, a real discussion, but now was not the place. Later, back at her plac--
Wait a minute, cooked veggies were not that sof--
Chiriku let out a retching noise, clapping a hand over her mouth to catch the meat she spat out. And she'd swallowed some. She coughed hard into her napkin, trying to get rid of the taste and reached for the glass of water, chugging it down.
The water vanished quickly, as did the tea. Holding the ever-present prayer beads tight in one hand, she sat back and covered her face with her other hand while she focused on calming her stomach.
The sudden gagging was alarming, especially considering the topic they were discussing. The first, obvious thing that came to a paranoid ninja's mind, of course, was poison, but she knew the waitress and had caught sight of the cook (another who was fond of her patronage), so that felt low on the list of problems. All the same, she half came out of her seat to lean over the table, switch off the grill (didn't want to catch herself on fire), and push her own cup of tea to the monk's side of the booth.
But once she was half out of her seat, she could see exactly what was in the napkin Chiriku had discarded - a hunk of half-chewed beef.
She paused in surprise, before a laugh escaped her. The plate of vegetables and the plate of raw meat were right next to each other; the older woman must have grabbed a strip of beef without looking and hadn't realized what she was stuffing in her mouth. No wonder she'd gagged on it - it hadn't even been cooked all the way through.
"Scare the shit out of me, why don't you," she said with another laugh, and dropped back into her seat.
Chiriku coughed a few more times, the sounds muffled by her hand, before moving her fingers so one dark eye could give Asuka a hard look. "So glad you find this amusing," she croaked weakly. She was still a little green around the gills; her stomach was definitely not settled down.
She closed her eyes but kept her fingers pressed against her forehead. It just wasn't the fact she had eaten even a small amount of meat, but it gave her the excuse to express some of the inner turmoil at the thought of Asuka actively seeking out those Akatsuki. Her stomach clenched with dread for Asuka (which didn't help the nausea).
This was stupid. She shouldn't be worrying this much. She knew how well Asuka could take care of herself, but the gut-feeling that something was going to happen wouldn't leave.
She leaned forward so she could rest her elbow on the table and her head in her hand.
"Asuka..." she began slowly, quietly, "what is it about this mission, that would make you smile?"
Once it was apparent that Chiriku was only suffering from a bruised sense of morals, she had leaned back over to flip on the grill. But the last question made her pause, fingers just touching the dial.
What was it about this mission that made her smile? The fact that she was being given the chance to do exactly what she wanted to do - go after Sasoriza for a third time and this time, take her out. She'd put it aside and put it aside, because as a shinobi of Konoha she had other obligations, and she was a patient woman; she knew she'd get her chance again someday. But now it was being dropped into her lap like an early Christmas present. How could she not smile?
After that lingering pause, in which her expression smoothed out and she stared at her bowl of rice (gaze clearly turned inward), Asuka finally twisted the dial and adjusted the leaping flames in the grill until they were back at the right height.
"Wrote to you about the attack on ANBU, didn't I?" The attack on ANBU, the attack on Kureno and Hanato. She asked it even though she knew full well she had written it out, a long and detailed letter - several of them - that expressed to Chiriku what she couldn't express to others. Primarily how furious she was at herself that she hadn't been there, that she hadn't moved fast enough to pin down the attacker until re-enforcements arrived. That she'd lost her at the border of Wind Country. That more and more ANBU had continued dying from their injuries and from the poison in their veins long after the smoke and fire had died down. It didn't matter that Kureno had survived the attack, it didn't matter that she'd gotten Hanato (then just a stupid Inuzuka who'd gotten in the way) back to medical support quick enough that he hadn't been rendered lame. What mattered was that now she knew who'd done it, she was in the position to rectify it, and she would take that bitch out when they finally met.
There was no 'or die trying.'
The jounin settled back upright in her seat and began laying out strips of meat on the grill to cook. "That was an Akatsuki. And I want her dead."
Chiriku slowly lifted her head, her dark eyes deep and her gaze sharp. "Her, who?" she asked in a low tone.
With the same casual moves as previous she continued to tend the meat on the grill, flipping the pieces over as they quickly cooked.
"Sasoriza of the Sand," she replied, as lightly as if she was naming someone she was planning on giving a present for Christmas. Which, in a sense, she was.
"I don't know that name." But the monk would remember it.
And that attack... was Akatsuki? No wonder she was so eager for this. If this Sasoriza was a part of that group, and the Hokage was essentially paying her for the chance at revenge on someone who had hurt people she cared about... Asuka was fiercely loyal and even more protective of the few she allowed close to her.
(The back of Chiriku's mind wondered what Asuka would do should anything happen to her. After considering what she knew of the jounin, and in light of this new information, it was decided Chiriku was better off not knowing.)
The sick feeling to the monk's stomach didn't leave. She knew she should try and deter Asuka from her path. She also knew it would be impossible. Not only was this a mission assigned to Asuka, but, Asuka could also be rather bull-headed.
Compared to how she felt inside, the cold air coming through the window was near balmy.
"Just... Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Stupid was getting killed. Stupid was getting anyone else on her team killed. Stupid wasn't going to happen, because enough people had died - or been at risk of dying - for long enough. She was going to get the information she needed, she wasn't going to go in blind. And she wasn't going to go in defenseless, either - she had already asked if she could request vials of antidote to that woman's poison at a moment's notice, and the answer had been a resounding yes. When they had Sasoriza's trail, the only person who'd be doing something stupid would be that woman - for having attacked in the first place.
Asuka checked a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, popped it in her mouth. "I'll do what I have to do," she replied around the mouthful, as serious as if she'd just accepted an order from the Daimyo himself.
"You do that. And if I find out anything, I'll let you know." Chiriku dropped her hand from her face so she could rest her chin in her palm. And sighed. She'd managed to lose her appetite, which stunk, because the dipping sauces were quite good.
She'd give herself about twenty minutes to see if she still felt up to dessert.
You do that, Chiriku replied, as though resigned to her fate. Or resigned to Asuka's fate. Well, she wouldn't be the first person to call this kunoichi stupid, that would be for sure. She certainly wasn't the last, either.
She continued to eat in silence for a few more minutes, before she paused to refill Chiriku's cup of tea and to reclaim her own (as the monk had apparently not needed it). A change in topic was necessary here. Sometimes the air needed to be cleared after uncomfortable topics, and this was apparently one of those uncomfortable topics. And what better way to clear the air than to allow Chiriku to make fun of her?
"So," she said, wiping the spout of the tea kettle so it wouldn't drip, "I have a date this up-coming Friday."
Chiriku's eyebrows rose. "Oh?" she replied, instantly curious. And grateful for the change in conversation. "Who with?"
Oh yeah, that worked. Putting aside the kettle, she added a bit of sugar and replied, casually, "That kid I'm training. The Inuzuka boy I've mentioned in my letters."
She really shouldn't refer to him that way - it made him sound so much younger than her - but it would give Chiriku more to tease her about. She could hear the 'cradle-robber' comments coming already...
"You're going on a date with the puppy?" Chiriku asked, clearly surprised. If anyone had taken bets, she would've put her money on Kureno. Obviously not, however. Iiiiiinteresting. "The whelp? ...and why am I suddenly reminded of Uryuu?" she added under her breath.
She shook her head. "So what prompted this, if I may so ask?"
Yeah, there was the cradle-robber crack she'd been expecting, though in a milder form than it could have taken.
"This is nothing like Uryuu," Asuka replied with a laugh (her hearing was too sharp for her own good). "For one thing, Hanato's only seven years younger than me, not seventeen. And don't go repeating that, I don't need him knowing I've been calling him a puppy behind his back." With her luck, he'd take it as an insult, not the fondly derogatory nickname it had ended up being in her letters to Chiriku.
"And anyway." She sipped at her tea, imitating the expression of absolute serenity that she'd seen on the monk's face now and then. "He kissed me, and then asked me on a date. So I accepted."
"Eh, what's a decade or so?" Chiriku answered with a careless wave of her hand. She smirked at Asuka's serene expression. It was good, but, not perfect. She still gave her points for trying. As for Uryuu, well, at least he had (mostly) grown out of that crush.
"And shouldn't it go the other way around? The asking before the kissing? Not that I have any experience with either, mind, but you can learn a lot from watching people."
Well... yes. She did have a point. And she'd (sort of) pointed that out to Hanato, too, but...
"Technically... this is the second date. So I don't think the kissing part matters." Or at least she'd decided it was the second date. He might have thought she was humoring him when she agreed to the 'date' before she left on that hellish mission to Rain Country... and she probably was, at the time, but she'd decided to take it at face value, now. Especially in the light of his 'mad infatuation,' which was she still working on deciphering. And the best way to decipher it was to see just what he meant, right?
Asuka set aside the tea to return to finishing off her food (and snagging some of Chiriku's vegetables, too, since she'd been neglecting them). "And us in Konoha, we're not always so fond of doing things traditionally. Sometimes we do things backwards." Like this, apparently.
Chiriku covered her mouth with her hand as she snickered. "So I'm noticing. This place," she said, meaning the village as a whole, "is quite interesting. And educational, as well."
She grinned. "So does this mean I get to meet Hanato, too?"
She rolled her eyes. "At some point. Not when he shows up, though. I don't need your shiny bald skull blinding him and scaring him off. What'll I do with my Friday night, then?"
"I'll put some baby powder to dull the glare, how's that?"
"You could try a toupee," was the counter. "I've seen a place that would be perfect for you."
"Har dee har har," Chiriku replied sarcastically. She gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll be nice and won't be there when the boy-toy arrives."
She made no promises about not being there when they got back. She was sleeping at Asuka's place, after all.
"He is not - " Whoa, down girl. Don't get defensive. Asuka took a breath and exhaled, forcing herself not to let Chiriku weasel her way under her skin. She'd set herself up for this deliberately, after all. Getting all up in arms in response would just be stupid.
"He's not my 'boy toy.' " The kunoichi stabbed her chopsticks in the monk's direction before tending to her food. "Got it? And you don't have to 'not be there.' I'm just not going to let him in or anything. It's your home right now, too."
"Aww, but Asuka-chan, you needn't worry about me~ And you wouldn't want to be rude to your date by not inviting him in at least when he comes to pick you up, do you?" Chiriku grinned. It was always fun to get Asuka riled up. "I mean, it's understandable you might not want to ask him in after a second date. I believe some things should wait until the third, or so I've heard."
Fun and relatively easy.
... Yeah, she had totally set herself up for this. All her fault, and no one else to pin the blame on. If only she could say that it wasn't worth it, giving Chiriku something else to concentrate on rather than the fact that her mission was obviously upsetting. Then maybe she'd have the right to get a little more pissy.
"Yes, Chiriku-baachan." Her voice was level and dry as a desert. "Inviting the nice young man in for se- I mean, coffee, obviously waits until after the third date." She popped a marinated bit of mushroom into her mouth. "If you're still here at the time, you're sleeping on the couch. Since you don't drink coffee, anyway."
... somehow, she managed to say that with a straight face.
Chiriku sighed theatrically. "Figures. The moment a man comes into the picture, I get ousted from the oh-so-comfy bed. For shame, Asuka. For shame."
The kunoichi shrugged, expression clearly without pity. "Your feet are cold."
"And you hog the covers. Your point?" the monk asked cheerfully.
All right. Here was the point where she needed to say something so crude and blasphemous that it would make this innocent and humble monk run for the hills.
Asuka paused in the midst of finish off the last of her meat to look at Chiriku and say, "Chiriku? I like you and all, but. Kinky as it might be, I'm not having a threesome with you. So you're staying on the couch."
... the question was, of course, would it actually work or had said monk gotten inurred to her crude and blasphemous ways?
Chiriku blinked. Several times.
Usually she was faster on the uptake to this sort of thing, but sometimes, like now, Asuka would manage to break her brain. "All right, fine, you win, I'll sleep on the couch."
Fortunately, she could recover relatively quickly. "What strength earplugs should I invest in, industrial grade?" she smiled.
...
... yes. Yes, Chiriku was inurred to her crude and blasphemous ways.
Somehow, the younger woman managed to contain at blush at those words, though she wasn't too far off from one. Shaking her head, she set down her chopsticks and covered her mouth with one hand, making a dismissive gesture at the monk with the other.
"Shut up and get your damn desert," she replied through her fingers, trying not to sound too embarrassed.
"Yes, ma'am~!" Chiriku gave Asuka a mock salute, then began studying the dessert menu in earnest.
"Hmm, this 'Death by Chocolate' looks really good... Ooo, but so does the chocolate spoon cake..."
Chiriku wouldn't be human if she wasn't jealous of Konoha's claim on her. Previous claim, to boot. But she didn't begrudge Asuka, or the Hokage who commanded her, or the village who needed her. To do so would mean it was time to retire. Being a shinobi was Asuka's calling, and while Chiriku might not always like that, she accepted it. After all, if Asuka hadn't chosen to become a shinobi in the first place, they never would have met.
Still didn't mean Chiriku wasn't privately jealous. Or that she worried about her friend. Her late sensei had been one of the few shinobi who had managed to survive his chosen career and retired to serve in the monastary. Chiriku had seen the scars that marked his body, and she had seen the shadows and the sorrows in his eyes that the years of fighting and killing and being a tool had put there.
She had seen the scars on Asuka's body. One didn't serve the Daimyo for a year without becoming as intimate with one's partner as one could before crossing a line. That included patching each other up after a battle. Chiriku had gotten her first real battlescars that year. The kind that had they been worse or a centimeter or two to the side, might have killed her. The robes covered them and the other monks at the temple (save the ones specializing in healing) had no knowledge of them.
She had seen the shadows in Asuka's eyes, too. Only when she had shown up on Asuka's doorstep had she learned that back at age twenty-four, Asuka's eyes had been relatively clear. Asuka was a little better at hiding them now, but the shadows were thicker.
A lot of Chiriku's private prayers were for Asuka, that she might pull through whatever the world (or the Hokage) threw at her. She wanted to see that Asuka was given the chance to retire, too.
She walked down a thoroughfare wider than the average street, smiling at people who noticed her and acknowledging them back. She was amazed at how surprised people could be over her presence. Not because of who she was but what she was - she had learned the monks caring for the local shrine didn't make themselves particularly available to the people of this village. If they want guidance, Houshi-sama, they know where we are, the abbot had said.
Which was really the wrong thing to say, all things considered.
Shinobi don't just need guidance, Chiriku had answered sharply. And trust me, the last place they will go for it is a monk. They need to know when they have a ready ear. Yes, they are private people, she had continued, overriding any feeble attempts at argument before they could be voiced, and chances are they won't take you up on the offer, but the most important thing is for them to know you are there, you are accessible, and that you will listen. They may not want your advice or opinions. You yourself may not understand just what it is they really go through. Understanding is not required. Presence is.
The abbot's face reddened, both from shame from being scolded and haughty pride at being lectured in front of his subordinates. Houshi-sama, I know what you are trying to say, but please understand that shinobi are a different breed from everyone else. They are private, as you said, but they take that habit to the extreme. We dare not infringe upon that.
Chiriku hadn't responded immediately. She'd just let the silence stretch and strain until the other monks were all fidgeting in small ways, until the air was thick enough with tension one would have needed an axe to cut it.
My dear lord abbot, she began in a voice that was so quiet one had to strain to hear her and so devoid of inflection that she might as well have been shouting for all the contempt her tone held, I see you have forgotten one very important fact about me. I am a member of the Daimyo's guard. I have seen a slice of shinobi life that few non-shinobi get to see, or would even want to see. I do not live around shinobi, therefore you all should be the ones more knowledgable than I. But it seems you have mewed yourselves up away from the very people who need you.
She'd left them chewing on that before sweeping from the shrine lest she invite them to spar. And when one's robes didn't touch the floor, sweeping away from someone was something that could only be described as sheer talent.
The problem at the shrine was something she was going to have to deal with. If it took reassigning people, so be it. The abbot was being too casual with his responsibilities here in her opinion, and though Chiriku was biased (the two most important people in her life were shinobi, after all), she also knew that the residents of Konoha were the backbone to the country's army. A civilian army did exist, but that existed more for show and lesser squabbles. The true military might lay in Konoha. And those people (not tools; she didn't give a rodent's behind that shinobi were supposed to think of themselves only as weapons whilst on duty) needed to know that other people cared and were concerned for their well-being, even if not directly involved in their lives. She knew the effect she'd had on Asuka over the years, and while she could hardly request the monks personally befriend the shinobi, again it was presence that mattered.
She allowed herself a quiet sigh when she thought no one was looking, then looked up and was basically herself: friendly and chatty without being overbearing, occasionally stopping a shinobi who looked especially worn to personally thank them for what they did, and doing so quickly but without rushing so the shinobi in question would not be delayed long. Some grunted, a few said nothing but nodded, and some looked like something had lifted (even if only a little) and thanked her for her interest. And all of that was done without her touching them unless they offered first as Asuka had taught her not to touch a shinobi, even something as innocuous as a brush of the arm, lest they respond out of reflex.
As nice as it was to have all that time off due to medical leave, after a while one got bored and itching to start moving again. Thankfully, though, this last trip to the hospital declared her healthy enough to start training and going on missions again. Which meant no more boredom, no more lolling around the house trying to think of things to do, and... well, no more hanging out with Chiriku, even though technically they really hadn't had much of a chance to do that. Things had kept coming up, the older woman had her own Monkly Duties to take care of at the local temple, and now... well, now there was a mission.
Though she hadn't exactly been pleased to immediately get redirected to the Hokage's office after getting signed off leave (hello, time to train back up to speed, please?), Asuka could not have been more pleased by the actual details of the mission. Not more patrol, not another mission from hell, but a mission to track down missing-nin. Specifically Akatsuki.
That woman had been identified as Akatsuki. And now that she was officially part of the tracking parties, Asuka could get her hands on the information she would have needed to pull rank to get before... and would be one of the first people to know when word of her whereabouts came back to Konoha. The gods of war were smiling on her today.
Third time's the charm.
But that could all wait for later. Asuka was a patient woman when it came to her battles, after all. There were other things to take care of, information to analyze, parties to get together, and monks to keep in line. Chiriku, apparently, hadn't been lazy in her absence from the house; here she was now in the middle of town, talking to strangers like her momma never told her not to.
"Hey, you." The kunoichi skirted a group of civilian girls gawking over a display in a window to approach her friend. She'd caught the tail end of the last conversation with the departing chuunin, heading for the Hokage tower. "Saving the world, one ninja at a time?"
Chiriku stopped and turned to face Asuka. "I'm not sure, Asuka, I mean after you, one might throw up their hands in defeat," she teased good-naturedly. That was simply how their relationship worked. Always teasing, always poking fun at the other so as to not take themselves too seriously. Except when it was serious, then they would both be all business. "I was just doing what I do. I doubt anyone I've spoken to will actually open up to me, or to the monks at the shrine, but I'm glad if they know there is someone to listen if they wish to unload." Her eyes had frozen up slightly when she mentioned her brethren but quickly thawed. If Asuka hadn't been right there, no one would have seen it.
"I take it the Hokage has a new mission for you, now that you're back on your feet?" she queried as they started walking again. She preferred concrete facts to assumptions and hypotheses.
Ah, that was just Chiriku. Sweet and naive, but she wouldn't be Chiriku if she didn't have that kind of attitude. True, most ninja probably would care less, or think her a looney or soft, but even this shinobi couldn't deny her the effort. If it helped one person, it was worth all the effort she put into it.
They strolled down the main drag that ran through the center of Konoha, keeping to the side near the stores to keep out of the way of what wheeled traffic was being pulled through. The foot traffic was bad enough considering it was around noon, but considering this was Konoha, most were wise to watch where they were going and try not to bump into anyone they were passing. It was only polite, after all, when many of the citizens had a hair-trigger reaction when it came to drawing weapons.
Asuka stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jounin uniform, curling the fingers up to keep them warm. It was pretty damn frigid out here compared to inside the hospital, and it was always cold inside hospitals. "Yeah," she replied. "Guess I'm just a popular woman like that."
The cold didn't bother Chiriku all that much, though she chalked it up to the layers beneath her robes. Silk long underwear had to be one of the warmest things made. Bloody expensive, yes, but worth it. Definitely made up for the fact that she was walking around with her head uncovered and since people lost most of their body heat from their head... Yes, the long underwear was certainly an extravagance she could live with.
"Lucky you, eh?" she replied, noting her friend's discomfiture. She made a note to snoop through Asuka's drawers and see for herself what the woman had in the ways of winter clothing. Perhaps another set of long underwear was in order. Though she almost never touched it, she did have money in an account; the paycheck from the year with the Daimyo that she only touched for expenditures that weren't part of what was necessary for the temple, the monastary, and the monks therein.
"Oh yes," she replied. Her voice was cheerful in a way that normally it wouldn't be, for a mission. But then, normally she hadn't been deliberately waiting on something just like this to fall into her lap for months, so maybe it wasn't so strange after all. "Lucky indeed."
Since they were in the middle of town, there were more than just hospitals and shops and people around; there were restaurants too, and food stalls, and it was right around noon. Asuka hadn't eaten herself, not even breakfast (coffee was usually all she was interested in); it was possible Chiriku might have eaten after she left for her appointment, but there was a possibility she was hungry again. Glancing over, she asked, "You hungry? Get you something to eat."
"Sure," Chiriku answered. "Anywhere's fine; while I have been exploring I'd still wager you know the better places to eat than I would." She hadn't eaten yet today. The 'discussion' with the abbot had left her with a sour taste in her mouth. Maybe she held her monks to a higher standard than others would expect, but a monk's primary duty was to be there for the people. Not to stay within a temple and spit-shine the place. Even her own monks, the ones at the Great Temple, did rotations at the Capital and nearby settlements. Chiriku firmly believed in having monks be visible - she herself would go out on rotation, though owing to her duties she went out considerably less than the others. It had nothing to do with pride but did have to do with station - she was Houshi-sama, and she had a responsibility to her monks that equalled her responsibility to the people.
And people thought a monk's life was easy. Tsk.
.... anywhere, huh?
The grin in Asuka's voice found a place on her lips as well. If Chiriku was fine with anywhere, then obviously there was only one place to go.
"Then I know just the place," she replied, still in that cheerful vein, and took her straight to the all-you-can-eat yakiniku joint that was only a few blocks from the hospital.
She was probably going to go to hell for this, but it wasn't like she wasn't going there already. Better to make the most of it, right?
Owing that it was about lunch time, the place had its fill of patrons. But as always there were seats open, and as always the servers were pleased to see her (who wouldn't be, when she was always bringing by an Akimichi?). They were seated quickly, the grill still hot and scoured clean after the last patron had left, and the scents of grilled meat and vegetables were, to a hungry stomach, very appetizing. Or, well, to her hungry stomach. There was no accounting for Chiriku's taste after all.
"Told you I'd bring you here one day," she said smugly after the waitress had arrived with their drinks and headed off again so they could make their order.
The smell of cooked and cooking meat hit her empty stomach hard even before they entered the restaurant. But she couldn't exactly refuse; she had said "anywhere."
She should've known better. That's all that could be said. She should've known better. And she needed to remember to take care what she said around Asuka because as the current situation proved, words could be interpreted in different ways.
But that didn't stop Chiriku from glowering at her even while she was fighting to keep from going green. "Yes, you did," she answered with a light touch of annoyance. At least the menu had vegetarian options, she thought as she perused her options. Grilled veggies. Mmm. She would simply make sure her food didn't touch Asuka's and try not to cook anything in the same spots as her meat. Though the grill was tiny...
Worse come to worst she'd just have to do penance afterward.
And Asuka only smiled back in the face of her dirty look, briskly rubbing her hands together near the edge of the grill. While the windows were open to allow the inevidtable smoke to be siphoned away, it was far warmer inside than it was outside. Her hands, freezing and stiff from the cold, certainly appreciated it.
"You'll live," she replied with perhaps just the tiniest bit of sympathy. Not much, really, because as far as she was concerned, meat was for eating. Ah, monks and their strange ways. "Besides which, they more than make up for their heathen ways with the desert menu. It's on the back page."
Asuka herself wasn't much for sweets. Which was probably an oddity, especially considering how well sweet stores did in a place like Konoha, where it felt like over half the population was female (over half the ninja population was female, so there was that). But while chocolate wasn't really her thing, she did have one weakness, and that was apparent when she leaned forward on her elbows like she was sharing a secret and said, "They have a peanut butter brownie that's killer."
Chiriku smirked faintly. "Oh really~" she replied as she also leaned in. So Asuka liked peanut butter, eh? "I was hoping for some chocolate, but I'll try some of your brownie to form my own opinion."
She'd missed this, she realized. Letters were all well and good, but it was so much better to be able to spend time with a friend in person. She could relax around Asuka in ways she couldn't even with her friends at the temple. It helped that Asuka didn't see her as a monk, but as Chiriku. The same way she saw Asuka and not whatever titles or ranks the younger woman had earned over the years.
It was nice to be recognized as simply human.
She watched Asuka's eyes and was pleased to see that at least for now, the shadows had somewhat lifted. They'd never go away, Chiriku knew, but she'd take what she could get.
"So," she said as she sat back, "when do you think I could get a chance to meet your team?" She had already decided on her order and was now ready to chitchat in earnest.
Heh, here we go. She knew it would come sooner or later.
The jounin laughed in the back of her throat, not even bothering to look at the menu (she had it memorized) before pushing it to the side of their booth. "I see how it is," she replied lightly. "Coming to see all the people in Konoha except me. You sleep in my house, you eat my food, you hang out with my friends, and you leave me in the dirt. Don't think I don't know what you're up to."
With a grin, she leaned back in her seat and continued in a more serious vein: "Chouko is out of the city for an undetermined length of time. Shikako is going on this mission with me. And Inosuke's got his own things to do, but... if the two of them ever get together, at least you could see them, right?" Asuka shrugged. "It's not as easy getting together as it used to be."
Something that slightly sad, but... well, it was life. They weren't genin anymore. Hell, at least Shikako was aiming for jounin, if not Inosuke too (Chouko probably wouldn't be back in time for the exam). They weren't her responsibility anymore. And... while it might have hurt had it been an abrupt change, this leave-taking had been going on over the course of two years now. She was ready to let them go - they didn't need her anymore.
Though it didn't mean they felt the same way...
Chiriku just grinned. "Now, now, Asuka, I'm a monk. I have to look out for your spiritual well-being, and I can only do that if I get to know the people around you," she returned just as lightly. "And as one of your oldest and dearest friends--" she was getting that look in her eye... "-- I think it's appropriate to make sure you're well taken care of, since I can't be around."
She did like what she had seen so far. It meant she wouldn't have to worry so much. Not that she would stop worrying, oh no. It was too amusing to watch Asuka squirm (or see it from reading inbetween the lines) to stop any time soon.
She nodded when Asuka talked about her cell. "Well, your team's growing up and moving on. They've got more things happening in their lives, but they'll still always be your students in some ways. Sensei was always 'Sensei' to me. He would get annoyed by it, especially after I became a full monk and thus no longer technically needed a sensei, but I'm sure you understand." She looked away, smiling at a few memories that passed through her mind.
"What can you tell me about your new assignment, if anything?" she asked as she lifted her gaze back to Asuka, smile still in place.
Insert appropriate eye roll here. Chiriku and her 'soul saving.' If only there were a soul left to save. Asuka'd tried to set her straight a few times, but there was no use talking to a monk about certain things.
But ah, the mission. She just smiled to herself, contemplating what she could and could not tell the older woman. Chiriku was not a security risk, even though she did not have any sort of security ranking, but the jounin had gotten used to restricting what she could say over the years. Then again, letters were notoriously unsecure, but there was a difference between telling the person face-to-face and telling them on a piece of paper. There was more she could say here than elsewhere.
But she held on to the information as their waitress returned, notepad in had and ready to take their order. Order they did, with the request to keep a desert menu for later (Asuka did have ten more pounds she needed to gain back, after all), and it wasn't until she'd left that the kunoichi turned back to her dining partner.
"It's a tracking mission," she replied, folding her arms on the table and leaning forward on her elbows. The restaurant was busy enough that she didn't have to lower her voice too much to keep the conversation private. "High rank missing-nin. The term 'Akatsuki' ever come by your temple?"
The joviality vanished from Chiriku's eyes instantly though her facial features never shifted. She wasn't donning a mask for Asuka - rather it was for everyone else in the restaurant as eyes tended to wander and a surefire sign something was wrong was a sudden extreme change in expression. Holding onto her bemusement, she raised an eyebrow at her friend.
"Actually... it has. I've never had any direct confrontations with them, thank the gods, but I've heard things. As you said, high-rank missing-nin. Worse, organized and methodic, though intentions are unknown. Their distinct robes, on the other hand, are known." She reached up and casually rubbed her eye. Asuka was tracking them... Dammitt, she wasn't Intel. The only reason Asuka would be tracking them would be to kill them.
Oh, so she did know the term. And the outfit. Good, very good. At least from her side. It meant she would have to explain less in public, and it also meant that if Chiriku heard tell of them...
"I'm sure if you heard any rumors of them back home, you'll let me know, right?" Asuka asked the question as a friend to a friend, but there was no denying that predatory look in her eye. At least she wasn't grinning as widely as she had once been, though it had not yet left her lips. "Once you do head home, of course. This isn't going to be an over-night mission. Likely it'll be keeping me busy for months, if not longer. They're a little hard to keep track of."
That predatory look did not bode well. For Asuka or for the Akatsuki, Chiriku couldn't say. But she didn't like how eager Asuka was looking. Akatsuki were people to avoid if one could. Granted, Asuka had been assigned this, but if Chiriku's instincts were correct, the jounin would've gone hunting on her own.
But why?
The waitress arrived with their food and after she'd gone, Chiriku had to force herself to not pick at her food, to instead use the chopsticks with the same natural grace to place the cuts of vegetables on the grill.
"There's a rumor," she began, pitching her voice to match Asuka's volume while forcing the inconsequential tone, "that began filtering down the others not long before I came here." The only others Chiriku could have meant were the rest of the Twelve. "It seems the scarlet and sable have been glimpsed before the sudden disappearance of someone known to have a high bounty on them. We all have our price, Asuka." Her own head was worth a good thirty million. Asuka's was nearly three times as much.
Which made Chiriku's traversing the country, without escort, a very rather stupid unsafe choice no matter what training she had received.
... that was not Sasoriza's MO, nor Itae and the Hoshigaki's. Therefore, this rumor must refer to other Akatsuki members. It was still a dangerous rumour, though.
Asuka's expression shifted from predatory to alert; anything that was a danger to the Twelve was something to be wary of indeed. She was not nearly so interested in taking care of her movements, though - while Chiriku kept her gestures normal, Asuka's hand paused in the process of laying a sliver of chicken on the grill.
"We're not down to eleven, are we?" she asked, sharply. If they were and it could conclusively be tied back to Akatsuki, then Tsurude would need to know...
"No." However, the unspoken Not yet hung heavy in the air. "They haven't struck so high. Right now we've been keeping it to ourselves, trying to find out more." Chiriku chuckled softly. "You know me, I'm the one that basically stores the knowledge for the whole group." Because of all of them, Chiriku was honestly the most stationary and the easiest to get ahold of.
"I hope you'll keep me in the know of what you find, if you can." She poked the bite-size piece of pepper with her chopsticks before lifting it from the grill and dunking it in sauce. Lifting it, she let the excess drip off then popped it in her mouth.
Tension clearly drained away at that confirmation that none of the Twelve had been taken down, and she turned her attention back to her food. It was true enough that if something had happened, word would have gotten to her, but while Chiriku was the easiest to get a hold of, Asuka was no doubt the most difficult to get ahold of. Not that they couldn't just go straight to Tsurude and leave any information with him - and they ought to, as he was her employer - but the Daimyo's Twelve tended to keep to themselves. And when only one of them was an officially active ninja, it did make sense that the ins and outs of Konoha wouldn't be apparent to them.
Still and all. If that was a pair of Akatsuki that really was hunting down high-priced bounties, then they might be the easiest to find. Just keep tags on all the bounties in Konoha (herself and Chiriku included), and eventually they'd come calling.
But those weren't the ones she was interested in. No, as far as Asuka was concerned, there was a priority in the order of Akatsuki she was going after. She'd just pass this information on and see to it later.
"If they come after me, I'll be sure to let you know." She flipped the thinly sliced meat to make sure it had been cooked all the way through, then removed it to eat. "As for the other three I'm aware of, their modi operandorum don't involve bounties. So I'm certain you'll be safe there. The likelihood they'll come knocking is quite slim."
Chiriku's look had honest amusement to it now. "Even if they did, I'm certain I can take care of myself." She ate more of her food without thinking as her thoughts had turned inward. She wanted to have a serious discussion with Asuka about this, a real discussion, but now was not the place. Later, back at her plac--
Wait a minute, cooked veggies were not that sof--
Chiriku let out a retching noise, clapping a hand over her mouth to catch the meat she spat out. And she'd swallowed some. She coughed hard into her napkin, trying to get rid of the taste and reached for the glass of water, chugging it down.
The water vanished quickly, as did the tea. Holding the ever-present prayer beads tight in one hand, she sat back and covered her face with her other hand while she focused on calming her stomach.
The sudden gagging was alarming, especially considering the topic they were discussing. The first, obvious thing that came to a paranoid ninja's mind, of course, was poison, but she knew the waitress and had caught sight of the cook (another who was fond of her patronage), so that felt low on the list of problems. All the same, she half came out of her seat to lean over the table, switch off the grill (didn't want to catch herself on fire), and push her own cup of tea to the monk's side of the booth.
But once she was half out of her seat, she could see exactly what was in the napkin Chiriku had discarded - a hunk of half-chewed beef.
She paused in surprise, before a laugh escaped her. The plate of vegetables and the plate of raw meat were right next to each other; the older woman must have grabbed a strip of beef without looking and hadn't realized what she was stuffing in her mouth. No wonder she'd gagged on it - it hadn't even been cooked all the way through.
"Scare the shit out of me, why don't you," she said with another laugh, and dropped back into her seat.
Chiriku coughed a few more times, the sounds muffled by her hand, before moving her fingers so one dark eye could give Asuka a hard look. "So glad you find this amusing," she croaked weakly. She was still a little green around the gills; her stomach was definitely not settled down.
She closed her eyes but kept her fingers pressed against her forehead. It just wasn't the fact she had eaten even a small amount of meat, but it gave her the excuse to express some of the inner turmoil at the thought of Asuka actively seeking out those Akatsuki. Her stomach clenched with dread for Asuka (which didn't help the nausea).
This was stupid. She shouldn't be worrying this much. She knew how well Asuka could take care of herself, but the gut-feeling that something was going to happen wouldn't leave.
She leaned forward so she could rest her elbow on the table and her head in her hand.
"Asuka..." she began slowly, quietly, "what is it about this mission, that would make you smile?"
Once it was apparent that Chiriku was only suffering from a bruised sense of morals, she had leaned back over to flip on the grill. But the last question made her pause, fingers just touching the dial.
What was it about this mission that made her smile? The fact that she was being given the chance to do exactly what she wanted to do - go after Sasoriza for a third time and this time, take her out. She'd put it aside and put it aside, because as a shinobi of Konoha she had other obligations, and she was a patient woman; she knew she'd get her chance again someday. But now it was being dropped into her lap like an early Christmas present. How could she not smile?
After that lingering pause, in which her expression smoothed out and she stared at her bowl of rice (gaze clearly turned inward), Asuka finally twisted the dial and adjusted the leaping flames in the grill until they were back at the right height.
"Wrote to you about the attack on ANBU, didn't I?" The attack on ANBU, the attack on Kureno and Hanato. She asked it even though she knew full well she had written it out, a long and detailed letter - several of them - that expressed to Chiriku what she couldn't express to others. Primarily how furious she was at herself that she hadn't been there, that she hadn't moved fast enough to pin down the attacker until re-enforcements arrived. That she'd lost her at the border of Wind Country. That more and more ANBU had continued dying from their injuries and from the poison in their veins long after the smoke and fire had died down. It didn't matter that Kureno had survived the attack, it didn't matter that she'd gotten Hanato (then just a stupid Inuzuka who'd gotten in the way) back to medical support quick enough that he hadn't been rendered lame. What mattered was that now she knew who'd done it, she was in the position to rectify it, and she would take that bitch out when they finally met.
There was no 'or die trying.'
The jounin settled back upright in her seat and began laying out strips of meat on the grill to cook. "That was an Akatsuki. And I want her dead."
Chiriku slowly lifted her head, her dark eyes deep and her gaze sharp. "Her, who?" she asked in a low tone.
With the same casual moves as previous she continued to tend the meat on the grill, flipping the pieces over as they quickly cooked.
"Sasoriza of the Sand," she replied, as lightly as if she was naming someone she was planning on giving a present for Christmas. Which, in a sense, she was.
"I don't know that name." But the monk would remember it.
And that attack... was Akatsuki? No wonder she was so eager for this. If this Sasoriza was a part of that group, and the Hokage was essentially paying her for the chance at revenge on someone who had hurt people she cared about... Asuka was fiercely loyal and even more protective of the few she allowed close to her.
(The back of Chiriku's mind wondered what Asuka would do should anything happen to her. After considering what she knew of the jounin, and in light of this new information, it was decided Chiriku was better off not knowing.)
The sick feeling to the monk's stomach didn't leave. She knew she should try and deter Asuka from her path. She also knew it would be impossible. Not only was this a mission assigned to Asuka, but, Asuka could also be rather bull-headed.
Compared to how she felt inside, the cold air coming through the window was near balmy.
"Just... Promise me you won't do anything stupid."
Stupid was getting killed. Stupid was getting anyone else on her team killed. Stupid wasn't going to happen, because enough people had died - or been at risk of dying - for long enough. She was going to get the information she needed, she wasn't going to go in blind. And she wasn't going to go in defenseless, either - she had already asked if she could request vials of antidote to that woman's poison at a moment's notice, and the answer had been a resounding yes. When they had Sasoriza's trail, the only person who'd be doing something stupid would be that woman - for having attacked in the first place.
Asuka checked a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce, popped it in her mouth. "I'll do what I have to do," she replied around the mouthful, as serious as if she'd just accepted an order from the Daimyo himself.
"You do that. And if I find out anything, I'll let you know." Chiriku dropped her hand from her face so she could rest her chin in her palm. And sighed. She'd managed to lose her appetite, which stunk, because the dipping sauces were quite good.
She'd give herself about twenty minutes to see if she still felt up to dessert.
You do that, Chiriku replied, as though resigned to her fate. Or resigned to Asuka's fate. Well, she wouldn't be the first person to call this kunoichi stupid, that would be for sure. She certainly wasn't the last, either.
She continued to eat in silence for a few more minutes, before she paused to refill Chiriku's cup of tea and to reclaim her own (as the monk had apparently not needed it). A change in topic was necessary here. Sometimes the air needed to be cleared after uncomfortable topics, and this was apparently one of those uncomfortable topics. And what better way to clear the air than to allow Chiriku to make fun of her?
"So," she said, wiping the spout of the tea kettle so it wouldn't drip, "I have a date this up-coming Friday."
Chiriku's eyebrows rose. "Oh?" she replied, instantly curious. And grateful for the change in conversation. "Who with?"
Oh yeah, that worked. Putting aside the kettle, she added a bit of sugar and replied, casually, "That kid I'm training. The Inuzuka boy I've mentioned in my letters."
She really shouldn't refer to him that way - it made him sound so much younger than her - but it would give Chiriku more to tease her about. She could hear the 'cradle-robber' comments coming already...
"You're going on a date with the puppy?" Chiriku asked, clearly surprised. If anyone had taken bets, she would've put her money on Kureno. Obviously not, however. Iiiiiinteresting. "The whelp? ...and why am I suddenly reminded of Uryuu?" she added under her breath.
She shook her head. "So what prompted this, if I may so ask?"
Yeah, there was the cradle-robber crack she'd been expecting, though in a milder form than it could have taken.
"This is nothing like Uryuu," Asuka replied with a laugh (her hearing was too sharp for her own good). "For one thing, Hanato's only seven years younger than me, not seventeen. And don't go repeating that, I don't need him knowing I've been calling him a puppy behind his back." With her luck, he'd take it as an insult, not the fondly derogatory nickname it had ended up being in her letters to Chiriku.
"And anyway." She sipped at her tea, imitating the expression of absolute serenity that she'd seen on the monk's face now and then. "He kissed me, and then asked me on a date. So I accepted."
"Eh, what's a decade or so?" Chiriku answered with a careless wave of her hand. She smirked at Asuka's serene expression. It was good, but, not perfect. She still gave her points for trying. As for Uryuu, well, at least he had (mostly) grown out of that crush.
"And shouldn't it go the other way around? The asking before the kissing? Not that I have any experience with either, mind, but you can learn a lot from watching people."
Well... yes. She did have a point. And she'd (sort of) pointed that out to Hanato, too, but...
"Technically... this is the second date. So I don't think the kissing part matters." Or at least she'd decided it was the second date. He might have thought she was humoring him when she agreed to the 'date' before she left on that hellish mission to Rain Country... and she probably was, at the time, but she'd decided to take it at face value, now. Especially in the light of his 'mad infatuation,' which was she still working on deciphering. And the best way to decipher it was to see just what he meant, right?
Asuka set aside the tea to return to finishing off her food (and snagging some of Chiriku's vegetables, too, since she'd been neglecting them). "And us in Konoha, we're not always so fond of doing things traditionally. Sometimes we do things backwards." Like this, apparently.
Chiriku covered her mouth with her hand as she snickered. "So I'm noticing. This place," she said, meaning the village as a whole, "is quite interesting. And educational, as well."
She grinned. "So does this mean I get to meet Hanato, too?"
She rolled her eyes. "At some point. Not when he shows up, though. I don't need your shiny bald skull blinding him and scaring him off. What'll I do with my Friday night, then?"
"I'll put some baby powder to dull the glare, how's that?"
"You could try a toupee," was the counter. "I've seen a place that would be perfect for you."
"Har dee har har," Chiriku replied sarcastically. She gave a long-suffering sigh. "Fine, fine, I'll be nice and won't be there when the boy-toy arrives."
She made no promises about not being there when they got back. She was sleeping at Asuka's place, after all.
"He is not - " Whoa, down girl. Don't get defensive. Asuka took a breath and exhaled, forcing herself not to let Chiriku weasel her way under her skin. She'd set herself up for this deliberately, after all. Getting all up in arms in response would just be stupid.
"He's not my 'boy toy.' " The kunoichi stabbed her chopsticks in the monk's direction before tending to her food. "Got it? And you don't have to 'not be there.' I'm just not going to let him in or anything. It's your home right now, too."
"Aww, but Asuka-chan, you needn't worry about me~ And you wouldn't want to be rude to your date by not inviting him in at least when he comes to pick you up, do you?" Chiriku grinned. It was always fun to get Asuka riled up. "I mean, it's understandable you might not want to ask him in after a second date. I believe some things should wait until the third, or so I've heard."
Fun and relatively easy.
... Yeah, she had totally set herself up for this. All her fault, and no one else to pin the blame on. If only she could say that it wasn't worth it, giving Chiriku something else to concentrate on rather than the fact that her mission was obviously upsetting. Then maybe she'd have the right to get a little more pissy.
"Yes, Chiriku-baachan." Her voice was level and dry as a desert. "Inviting the nice young man in for se- I mean, coffee, obviously waits until after the third date." She popped a marinated bit of mushroom into her mouth. "If you're still here at the time, you're sleeping on the couch. Since you don't drink coffee, anyway."
... somehow, she managed to say that with a straight face.
Chiriku sighed theatrically. "Figures. The moment a man comes into the picture, I get ousted from the oh-so-comfy bed. For shame, Asuka. For shame."
The kunoichi shrugged, expression clearly without pity. "Your feet are cold."
"And you hog the covers. Your point?" the monk asked cheerfully.
All right. Here was the point where she needed to say something so crude and blasphemous that it would make this innocent and humble monk run for the hills.
Asuka paused in the midst of finish off the last of her meat to look at Chiriku and say, "Chiriku? I like you and all, but. Kinky as it might be, I'm not having a threesome with you. So you're staying on the couch."
... the question was, of course, would it actually work or had said monk gotten inurred to her crude and blasphemous ways?
Chiriku blinked. Several times.
Usually she was faster on the uptake to this sort of thing, but sometimes, like now, Asuka would manage to break her brain. "All right, fine, you win, I'll sleep on the couch."
Fortunately, she could recover relatively quickly. "What strength earplugs should I invest in, industrial grade?" she smiled.
...
... yes. Yes, Chiriku was inurred to her crude and blasphemous ways.
Somehow, the younger woman managed to contain at blush at those words, though she wasn't too far off from one. Shaking her head, she set down her chopsticks and covered her mouth with one hand, making a dismissive gesture at the monk with the other.
"Shut up and get your damn desert," she replied through her fingers, trying not to sound too embarrassed.
"Yes, ma'am~!" Chiriku gave Asuka a mock salute, then began studying the dessert menu in earnest.
"Hmm, this 'Death by Chocolate' looks really good... Ooo, but so does the chocolate spoon cake..."