-Part 5-
?Are you all right?? I asked. Which was a remarkably stupid question, now that I think about it.
?My stomach hurts,? she whispered as she wrapped her arms around her middle.
I ground my teeth. I hoped he had time to scream really loudly. ?Look, can you stay here for a minute? You can, er, get cleaned up if you want to, and I?ll get us some clothes.?
She dully looked down at herself. ?He cut my shirt. I liked that shirt.?
?I?ll get you some new clothes,? I promised ? not that my track record was worth a shit with her. ?I?ll be back as soon as I can.?
She just nodded. So I grunted and stood up.
Night was falling, so it wasn?t that hard to sneak up on what looked to be a fairly prosperous farmstead and ?liberate? some clothes from their laundry. Funny the euphemisms you use for stealing when it?s you doing the thievery. I found a dark green kimono close to my size, along with some black drawstring pants. I also stole a short, pale yellow dress and dark brown leggings that looked like they would fit the girl. I lingered long enough to steal a quartet of eggs from their chickens.
It was almost fully dark by the time I returned to the small grove of trees. I found the girl near where I?d left her, but sitting in the stream. She was chattering from the cold water and crying her eyes out, her body racked by silent sobs. I dropped the bundled clothes to the ground and sat down on the bank near her, completely at a loss as for what to do.
She jumped as I sat down, and the next thing I knew her arms were wrapped around my shins. She was shaking so hard she almost pulled me off the bank. ?I thought you weren?t coming back,? she said miserably, then hiccupped.
I awkwardly patted her head. ?You aren?t getting rid of me that easily,? I said, with confidence I did not feel. I wondered how often the old man had to do that with me.
She looked up at me. ?Promise?? she asked warily.
I nodded, ignoring the jabs from my conscience.
?Thank you,? she said. Then she wrinkled her nose. ?You smell bad,? she said. Then she frowned and pulled a lock of crimson hair in front of her nose. ?I smell bad,? she concluded.
?Use the stream to get clean,? I suggested gently as I stood up and separated the bundles of clothes. I moved downstream far enough to be just out of sight around some bushes.
?There?s no soap,? she said, her voice quavering a little.
I shucked off the pants I?d worn longer than I cared to think about and jumped into the stream. ?There?s sand along the bottom,? I replied. ?You can use that to scrub away dirt, and then rinse it off.? Old man said that was almost as good as soap on a long mission ? it was hard to sneak around if you stank.
She didn?t say anything for a while. I stretched out, luxuriating as the chill water flowed over my body. I?d never felt anything like this before. I dunked my head and began trying to strip away some of the blood and grease in my hair as I rinsed away the ashes and smoky smell.
When I pulled my head up out of the water, I heard the girl?s voice again. ?Where are you?? she cried out.
I cringed at the noise and forced myself not to snap. ?I?m here,? I replied in a loud whisper. ?I was just washing my hair.?
?Oh,? she said in a quieter voice.
?What did you want?? I asked as I rinsed off and stood up. I was a little raw where I?d raked my nails over the skin, trying to rid myself of as much dirt as possible. I?d never had a chance to bathe like this before, and I didn?t want to waste it.
?Did? did I kill that man?? she asked.
?You distracted the others enough that I was able to get away from them,? I answered. It wasn?t exactly what she asked, but I had no idea how to tell her the truth. Would she be glad she?d killed the bastard? Would she break down? I had no frigging idea, and I wished the old man had given a lecture or two on how to deal with distraught females. Especially since this was partially my fault, dammit.
?I?m glad you got away,? she said tonelessly. There was a little splashing, so I waited a few minutes after it stopped before I walked back around the bushes again.
She was dressed and sitting huddled on the grass near the bank. I sat down cross-legged next to her.
?Thank you for the clothes,? she said.
I nodded and pulled two of the eggs out of the folds of my kimono and handed them to her. She looked at me questioningly as I pulled out the other pair. ?Old man said these are good to eat. Use your eye tooth to punch a small hole in one end and suck out what?s inside.?
She watched me do it, so I tried not to bobble it too badly. The liquid protein was thick on my tongue, but I swallowed it anyway. She copied my motions, but made a face after swallowing. ?It tastes yucky,? she said.
I shrugged. ?It?ll keep you warm through the night. I?ll try to steal something tastier for breakfast.?
She frowned. ?My? they told me stealing was bad.?
I nodded. ?It is, but we are operating in enemy territory, so that?s a little different. It?s okay to do bad things to enemies.?
?Enemies?? she asked. Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment, and then she nodded. ?You?re right? uhm. What is your name??
That question brought me up short. Old man had always called me ?kid?, but I knew that was also the general term. I shrugged after a moment. ?I don?t have one,? I admitted.
That little revelation made her mouth drop open. ?How can you not have a name?? she asked - a little disbelieving and a little outraged at the same time.
I sighed. ?Because it was always just me and the old man in that cell, as long as I can remember. If he was talking out loud, I knew he was talking to me, and vice-versa. Come to think of it, I don?t know if he had a name either.?
?He had to have a name. Especially if he was old. He wasn?t always in that? cell? Was he??
I shook my head. ?No, he wasn?t.?
?Did he do something bad?? she asked, more innocent than accusing.
?The Tsuchikage thought so. He put the seal on me, but he didn?t make it so it would break my mind. That?s why he was imprisoned for the rest of his life,? I answered, my grief making my words come out more bitter than I intended.
__________________
To be Continued.
?Are you all right?? I asked. Which was a remarkably stupid question, now that I think about it.
?My stomach hurts,? she whispered as she wrapped her arms around her middle.
I ground my teeth. I hoped he had time to scream really loudly. ?Look, can you stay here for a minute? You can, er, get cleaned up if you want to, and I?ll get us some clothes.?
She dully looked down at herself. ?He cut my shirt. I liked that shirt.?
?I?ll get you some new clothes,? I promised ? not that my track record was worth a shit with her. ?I?ll be back as soon as I can.?
She just nodded. So I grunted and stood up.
Night was falling, so it wasn?t that hard to sneak up on what looked to be a fairly prosperous farmstead and ?liberate? some clothes from their laundry. Funny the euphemisms you use for stealing when it?s you doing the thievery. I found a dark green kimono close to my size, along with some black drawstring pants. I also stole a short, pale yellow dress and dark brown leggings that looked like they would fit the girl. I lingered long enough to steal a quartet of eggs from their chickens.
It was almost fully dark by the time I returned to the small grove of trees. I found the girl near where I?d left her, but sitting in the stream. She was chattering from the cold water and crying her eyes out, her body racked by silent sobs. I dropped the bundled clothes to the ground and sat down on the bank near her, completely at a loss as for what to do.
She jumped as I sat down, and the next thing I knew her arms were wrapped around my shins. She was shaking so hard she almost pulled me off the bank. ?I thought you weren?t coming back,? she said miserably, then hiccupped.
I awkwardly patted her head. ?You aren?t getting rid of me that easily,? I said, with confidence I did not feel. I wondered how often the old man had to do that with me.
She looked up at me. ?Promise?? she asked warily.
I nodded, ignoring the jabs from my conscience.
?Thank you,? she said. Then she wrinkled her nose. ?You smell bad,? she said. Then she frowned and pulled a lock of crimson hair in front of her nose. ?I smell bad,? she concluded.
?Use the stream to get clean,? I suggested gently as I stood up and separated the bundles of clothes. I moved downstream far enough to be just out of sight around some bushes.
?There?s no soap,? she said, her voice quavering a little.
I shucked off the pants I?d worn longer than I cared to think about and jumped into the stream. ?There?s sand along the bottom,? I replied. ?You can use that to scrub away dirt, and then rinse it off.? Old man said that was almost as good as soap on a long mission ? it was hard to sneak around if you stank.
She didn?t say anything for a while. I stretched out, luxuriating as the chill water flowed over my body. I?d never felt anything like this before. I dunked my head and began trying to strip away some of the blood and grease in my hair as I rinsed away the ashes and smoky smell.
When I pulled my head up out of the water, I heard the girl?s voice again. ?Where are you?? she cried out.
I cringed at the noise and forced myself not to snap. ?I?m here,? I replied in a loud whisper. ?I was just washing my hair.?
?Oh,? she said in a quieter voice.
?What did you want?? I asked as I rinsed off and stood up. I was a little raw where I?d raked my nails over the skin, trying to rid myself of as much dirt as possible. I?d never had a chance to bathe like this before, and I didn?t want to waste it.
?Did? did I kill that man?? she asked.
?You distracted the others enough that I was able to get away from them,? I answered. It wasn?t exactly what she asked, but I had no idea how to tell her the truth. Would she be glad she?d killed the bastard? Would she break down? I had no frigging idea, and I wished the old man had given a lecture or two on how to deal with distraught females. Especially since this was partially my fault, dammit.
?I?m glad you got away,? she said tonelessly. There was a little splashing, so I waited a few minutes after it stopped before I walked back around the bushes again.
She was dressed and sitting huddled on the grass near the bank. I sat down cross-legged next to her.
?Thank you for the clothes,? she said.
I nodded and pulled two of the eggs out of the folds of my kimono and handed them to her. She looked at me questioningly as I pulled out the other pair. ?Old man said these are good to eat. Use your eye tooth to punch a small hole in one end and suck out what?s inside.?
She watched me do it, so I tried not to bobble it too badly. The liquid protein was thick on my tongue, but I swallowed it anyway. She copied my motions, but made a face after swallowing. ?It tastes yucky,? she said.
I shrugged. ?It?ll keep you warm through the night. I?ll try to steal something tastier for breakfast.?
She frowned. ?My? they told me stealing was bad.?
I nodded. ?It is, but we are operating in enemy territory, so that?s a little different. It?s okay to do bad things to enemies.?
?Enemies?? she asked. Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment, and then she nodded. ?You?re right? uhm. What is your name??
That question brought me up short. Old man had always called me ?kid?, but I knew that was also the general term. I shrugged after a moment. ?I don?t have one,? I admitted.
That little revelation made her mouth drop open. ?How can you not have a name?? she asked - a little disbelieving and a little outraged at the same time.
I sighed. ?Because it was always just me and the old man in that cell, as long as I can remember. If he was talking out loud, I knew he was talking to me, and vice-versa. Come to think of it, I don?t know if he had a name either.?
?He had to have a name. Especially if he was old. He wasn?t always in that? cell? Was he??
I shook my head. ?No, he wasn?t.?
?Did he do something bad?? she asked, more innocent than accusing.
?The Tsuchikage thought so. He put the seal on me, but he didn?t make it so it would break my mind. That?s why he was imprisoned for the rest of his life,? I answered, my grief making my words come out more bitter than I intended.
__________________
To be Continued.
