(WIP) Suiren Thirteen: [UNTITLED] Scene 3B – Draft

And so the torture continues; not gonna rant a lot at this time, since this scene is actually just a continuation/completion of Scene 3A. As stated above, this is a Work In Progress! Don’t read on if you tend to get overly attached to things, because anything and everything written here is subject to change at my slightest neurotic whim! O_o;…

Reaching for the threadbare roll of toilet paper in the corner of the stall, Kurenai tensed involuntarily as a phantom blade kissed the back of her neck. Though dulled by the remove of memory, the pain was still vivid enough to make her want to roll her shoulders and tilt her head after it had passed; it had been a long time since she’d last been decapitated.

Kurenai intensely disliked using Kagebunshin. The technique was a pure gamble in terms of cost vs. benefit, and the feedback effect caused by the integration of memories was downright dangerous, since it bypassed most forms of genjutsu defense. Kurenai could think of far too many unpleasant ways to exploit that ‘feature.’

Still, her doppelganger’s metaphysical death rattle was a sobering reminder of the technique’s usefulness. Closing her eyes, the wavy-haired jounin thought back to the last few minutes, combing her new memories for details of the events that had led to ‘her’ demise.

Shortly thereafter, Kurenai was very thankful that she was already sitting down, and doubly so that it was in the privacy of a bathroom stall. The green pressboard walls offered scant defense against intrusion, but at least they allowed her a shred of dignity as she crossed her arms over her thighs and hung her head with a long, despairing sigh.

In terms of mission objectives, she supposed things could have gone worse. Lord Haruno had agreed to provide them with a representative within a reasonable time frame. Given that he’d said his envoy would meet her at Osawaramachi, the violent manner by which she’d been ’shown out’ was probably just the lord’s way of demonstrating his awareness of her ruse.

She had to hope that was the case, anyway, but that raised the question of how he’d known that he was dealing with a clone. Was she being watched, or did he have some other method of ferreting out bunshin? Whether it was a warning or a bluff, the stakes in the lord’s rivalry with Konoha had definitely been raised.

On top of that, Kurenai’s gut instinct told her that the lord had agreed to their request far too easily. He had to have some sort of angle, and until she figured out what it was, her uncertainty was going to hang over her like a heavy sword waiting to fall. In fact, when she visualized it, Kurenai realized that she had a veritable arsenal of worries hovering over her head; it was like they were multiplying.

Ultimately, the source of all her current woes was that damn mission request. Sent by their envoy in the Hidden Sand, the mission called for three specific people that each had very valid reasons for not participating, and all of those reasons were now coming to roost, one by one, like vultures at a gristly feast.

First had been Kurenai’s own selection as mission lead. From the ages of twelve to sixteen, Kurenai had served as a spy within the Fire Country Imperial Court, impersonating the daughter of an obscure and recently dead noble house that Konoha had ‘resurrected’ for the purpose of keeping tabs on they wealthiest clients.

As such, she was rarely assigned to missions involving nobles of the Fire Country, to prevent her from coming in contact with her former ‘peers.’ She’d taken great pains to fake her own death when Konoha had called her home in the wake of the Kyuubi attack, but there was still a small chance that someone might recognize her and become suspicious.

But she had been assigned to the mission anyway, and Lord Haruno had recognized her. Perhaps this shouldn’t have surprised her as much as it had; Lord Haruno was widely know as the most paranoid man in the Fire Country. He was the last person she should be interacting with.

The entire situation reeked of contrivance; someone had either altered the mission request or interfered directly in the selection process. Unfortunately, Kurenai wouldn’t be able to investigate further until they arrived in the Hidden sand. For now, she could only hope that the lord took the incident as a case of mistaken identity, or things could get messy.

Speaking of messy, Kurenai didn’t even want to think about how Sakura might react if she ever found out that Kurenai had slept with her father when they were younger. It hadn’t exactly been a romantic entanglement, just the sort of lustful dalliance that was expected of lords and ladies at court, but Sakura probably wouldn’t see it that way.

Sakura’s involvement was the second big ‘oops’ in the mission request. By mistakenly naming her ‘Lady Haruno Sakura of Ryuuzai,’ the author of the request had made Konoha appear both incompetent and conniving in the eyes of the lord. Again, this stunk of deliberate sabotage, though Lord Haruno’s already low opinion of Konoha may have blunted its impact somewhat.

More troubling were Sakura’s ‘personal problems.’ After speaking with an ANBU medic that had been working with her, Kurenai had been given access to Sakura’s file. Sakura suffered from complex, polarized emotional states that bordered on distinct, separate personalities. This was apparently a preexisting condition, but was exacerbated by her use of an ‘infectious’ mind-control genjutsu that was highly unstable, could not be deactivated, and was not even properly understood.

In Kurenai’s professional opinion, Sakura probably should have been kept under observation for at least another month, but the medic had assured her that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Morino Ibiki, ANBU’s own head of torture and interrogation, had even gone so far as to declare Sakura sane and stable enough to return to active duty.

Given that Ibiki had once given Mitarashi Anko that same assessment, Kurenai wasn’t sure she trusted the man’s definition of ’sane and stable,’ but even if Sakura were in perfect mental health, Kurenai still would have been troubled by the matter of Sakura’s mystery genjutsu. The last thing she wanted to have on a sensitive diplomatic mission was a touchy psychoactive landmine.

A landmine that was currently sitting in her own apprentice’s lap- though hopefully not in the literal sense. Kurenai had no idea what to make of Hinata’s presence at the front gates that morning, but she was sorely tempted to return to Ryuuzai castle in person just to collect her wayward ward before anything happened to her, the lord’s ‘warning’ notwithstanding.

The Hyuuga clan elders were totally unyielding when it came to the matter of Hinata’s safety- or rather, the safety of her eyes. When Kurenai had gone to the clan compound the previous night to inform Hinata of her absence, she hadn’t even suggested that Hinata accompany her; it went without saying that they’d never approve of their precious ‘heir’ going on such a risky mission.

Hinata had accepted the news with polite resignation, though the disappointment in her eyes had been almost painful to behold. After the second exam, Kurenai had promised Hinata that she would make time to train with her, and Kurenai still hoped to keep that promise, but that would only be possible if Hinata didn’t get herself ‘retired’ for this shocking little stunt.

Kurenai was reasonably certain she could prevent it from coming to that as long as there weren’t any complications, but ‘complicating’ things seemed to be a Haruno family specialty. Finishing her business in the bathroom, Kurenai meticulously washed her hands and checked her composure in the mirror before walking out into the restaurant proper.

Noting her return, the third and final player in this miscast comedy errors pushed off of a nearby wall and stalked closer. A low-brimmed straw hat concealed much of the younger girl’s face, as did the sandy blond hair that fell free and wild around her shoulders, but Kurenai had no trouble seeing the scowl of impatience that tightened Sabaku no Temari’s lips.

つづく (To be continued – Chapter Incomplete)