I put Sakura down as we enter the Tavern.
It was a weird, but also not a weird feeling.
It's a tavern, a bar. Far from a kids' place.
Yet we were getting greetings left and right.
Everyone smiling and chilling with the cold sake.
The barmaid wanted to help Sakura.
" I have my slave for the day right here", is what she says.
The bar breaks into laughter as I give a wry smile.
The damage that Gato did is still there, the people he killed are still dead. But they are so happy.
It's unnerving to think, how a person's death can bring so much happiness.
What a fascinating thing.
In the corner of the bar, I see a dark cloud hovering over a man, with a sword as big as himself.
Jabuja.....drunk as a drunk any man can be.....gulping down pegs one after another.
"Good", I thought out loud.
"How?", Sakura asks.
"Drunk people tend to talk from their heart", I answer. She looks at me with narrow eyes.
"You know what Sasuke kun.....you know a lot of the things that we girls learn at the seduction class. Did you have a tutor or something?", Sakura wonders.
"No? I took the classes, learned fair and square".
"You.....I never saw you there. Boys aren't...", Sakura tilts her head confused.
"That's a story for another day, Sakura. We should focus on the task at hand", I urge.
Stoll is high. I can get up but Sakura.....
She puts her hands up in the air.
I pull her up by the waist and sit her on the stool.
"Sake please", Sakura waves her hand at the waiter.
I almost fell off the stool.
"Not you missy", the waiter chuckles.
"A chocolate milkshake then".
"They sell milkshakes here?", I couldn't help but ask.
"Best in the town", I bartender replies.
"Yes, 2 for us and one for the gentleman over", I muse.
Jabuja looks at me with malice in his eyes.
"Scram", he says. I ignore him.
The chocolate shake comes. I unseal a scroll. A bottle comes out.
"What is this?", Sakura asks.
"I call it....vodka", I say with a whistle as the smell hits me in the nose.
I see Jabuja peeking.
Just a small amount of Vodka in the milkshake.
And I present it to Jabuja.
Jabuja's eyes shake for a few seconds.
I hope he doesn't spill it on my face.
Surprisingly he drinks it. Not even considering the presence of poison.
Jabuja huffs and blinks.
"Uuuh....this....this is hard, kid. Hits like a hammer", Says Jabuja.
He takes another sip.
And suddenly he looks at Sakura, poignant ts at her.
"You.....you are black Apes kid".
My eyes shot up in the sky. I snapped my head at Sakura so fast that it made a cracking sound.
"Eddi's code name is Black Ape", Sakura says with a shrug.
"You knew him? Jabuja san?".
"Yes....I do. Your dad was one nasty Anbu. Chased me around like a dog during the war. That technique brought me close to death more times than I can count", he says with a chuckle.
"He is not my dad. My guardian. He adopted me", Sakura corrects him.
"Oh....there is no way that black mountain ape can ever have a ...pink rabbit", he takes another sip.
Now that just sounds racist.
"You know.....", Jabuja huffs.
"Haku....that .....kid.....I found him on a goddamn bridge, freezing in the cold. I ....we were in the middle of the war. I saved him from a weird slave trader. Since then, he just followed me around. Sometimes, I think it's Haku that took me in. Not the other way around".
"I trained him. Didn't want the kid to die. Treated him....like a weapon for me to use. But the kid....has such a gentle heart. I tried to kill it. Kindness is never rewarded in the world. I wanted him to be strong.", he gulps the whole thing down.
Sakura .....has a look that I would describe as nostalgic.
"It's all gone now. He....finally escaped from my torture. He will live his life the way he wants. Not with some .....blood thirsty fugitive", he says.
I.....am at a loss for words.....I don't know what to say. How do I fix this? What do I do? Come on ,talk no jutsu.
"Jabuja san.....is kind too", I hear Sakura.
Jabuja looks at Sakura for a second and starts laughing hysterically.
"Good one kid? Hei...you ....uchiha brat. Got any more of that Vodka?", he asks.
I grabbed the bottle. We need more alcohol. I don't know what to do. I have no idea what to say.
Sakura holds onto my hand.
"Jabuja san. If you would be so kind to hear me out", she says as she hides the bottle away.
"Give me more of that and I will ", Jabuja says.
Sakura takes a long breath.
Oh boy.....I....is that?.....
"Haku san is ....kind...in one word. He was found by you, brought up by you. The kindness he devours, the varied source of it, can be no one but you. It's simply how children do things. They imitate", Sakura says calmly.
Jabuja shakes his head in denial. But I can see, it. The change in the air.
It's....talk no jutsu. It's starting to kick in.
"When Eddi took me in, he wanted me to become a Ninja from the start. Making me do harsh training every day. He tried his best to teach me his technique. When I did at last, I used it to run away", Sakura says with her bangs covering her face.
"He could've easily chased me, put me in my place. But, he didn't. Instead, he let me go. It hurt me. Thinking that, I meant nothing to him, although he already told me that he is not my parent", Sakura then suddenly looks straight at Jabuja. The gaze is sharp. A killer. Jabuja is .....attentive, more like on edge.
"I went back home to kill him. To make my mark in this world. To have a meaning in life. But when I reached home, I found him in a state worse than you. Then I understood something. He wanted me to be strong, by hating him. And let me go to find good in life. Even if it meant,e riding himself in pain. I didn't want this. I loved him. I didn't want to hate him", Sakura pauses.
"Then....what did you do?", it's Jabuja who is asking.
"What could I do? In the end, he is all I ever have close to a parent. I can't kill him. Eddie said, if my being a ninja meant that I would hate him for the rest of my life, he would rather be hated. So I became a ninja, without hating him", Sakura shrugs.
Now....that was an unexpectedly simple solution.
Sakura then touches Jabuja's hand.
"It is not that simple kid", Jabuja says.
"It is", Sakura insists.
"Jabuja san, you showed him what is there to show. Made him a weapon to kill. Now, you wish to show him a gentler place, you can do it without being a complete dick", Sakura says firmly.
The words, the facts, the amount of personal details and a pinch of insult. It's perfect.
This is what you call a perfect Talk no Jutsu.
"I can't. He and I are worlds apart. I can never do that. I killed thousands of people. Murdered innocent. It will be selfish", Jabuja confesses.
"Then it is time to be selfish. You took him with you, cared for him, trained him, out of what? Pity ?", Sakura.
Jabuja slaps Sakura's hand away. Enraged.
"No, he.....he was a tool. For me to use. I didn't have any attachment. I didn't love him. But I didn't pity him. I ....wanted to ...". But progressively he milds down to confusion.
Sakura again holds onto his hand and squizzes it.
"You did", she says while looking into his eyes.
She is hypnotising him at this point.
"What do I do now? Just walk up to him and say that ....that I'm sorry? That I don't want him to hate me?", he asks Sakura. Wow, that is a drastic change in attitude.
Sakura with the most angelic smile says," Yeah....you can try that".
"Although I don't know if he will change his mind about going to Konoha", Sakura sticks out a tongue.
Suddenly, his malic comes back. Slaps the hand away for 2nd time.
"Fuck off brat. What are you? My grandma ?", then he proceeds to leave.
Sakura then brings back the bottle and offers it to Jabuja. She...oh.no....not the whole bottle.
He takes it.
"I've had enough of you brats", then he storms out the door.
I look at Sakura. Amazing. She .....talk no Jutsu Jabuja.
I bet I have little stars in my eyes.
"Sakura....that....that was amazing. You didn't have to give the whole bottle but it was worth it", I say.
Sakura flicks her bangs and acts like one of those haughty women.
Which breaks into a smile.
It would seem that I have a long way to go.
But for some reason.....the story felt familiar.
Like, she ...there is no way.
Might just be a coincidence. Yeah, let's not pry into this any further. It's the ninja world. Almost all single mother or father has a tragic story to tell. There are thousands,
Let's be sure to remember one of 'em.