Mail..? Mail!
Date: May 13th, 13 years aNb
Days since Team 11 left Mizumiyo Palace: 10
Time: 11:20 AM
Motoko Hata was lying in her bed, holding the ring from her and Sho's shared dream in her hand over her head. She had – admittedly with some reluctance – attempted to return the ring and the other expensive jewelry pieces she'd worn in her brief appearance as Mitsune Konno to the Lord Daimyo's majordomo before she'd met up with Sho-sa in the security closet. Shao Fukamichu had looked at her and, with a merry wink, closed her hand around them before walking away!
"Of course he did, Motoko-sa…" Sho had said when she mentioned it to him while they were packing her clothes. He had wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her close. She'd smiled and melted into his warm embrace. "YOU, my love, were the one who convinced Reiyuriko to return to the Palace. Not to mention the fact that she arrived just in time to bail him out of the fact that he'd been parading a fake princess around up to that moment. Allowing Fukamichu to save face like that is easily worth ten times what those pieces cost to him."
Today was the tenth one since she'd last seen her white-haired love. The last of the physical traces of their marathon make out session had finally faded away, to the kunoichi's mixed feelings of dismay and relief. The relief came from the fact that her parents hadn't seen them, leading to an awkward conversation, like the one she'd had with Rai in front of the hospital nearly a week ago. They'd eventually come to an agreement that, when she wanted to have moments with Sho, she'd make sure to verify they were outside of their twin bond radius before indulging. In exchange, Raiden promised no more pointless punching of things.
Tanaka-sensei had called two days ago, saying that Takahashi's procedure had gone off without a hitch and the doctor expected him to fully recover by the latter half of June. They would be having a light training session in three days, but they were expected to continue their own training between now and then.
Motoko sighed, setting the dolphin ring on her end table. She just felt so listless at the moment… Here it was approaching Noon and she was still in her silken nightgown lying in bed!
"Motoko! You've got a package you need to sign for!" Her mother yelled from the first floor.
"Coming!" She called back with a sigh. She rolled out of bed; quickly throwing her yukata on and cinching the fabric belt tightly as she walked.
As she reached the door, she saw a courier-nin standing there complete with his forehead protector bearing the image of a sealed envelope. As with the banking service, the courier service was a neutral, multinational organization to ensure that there would always be a means for the nations to communicate, even during times of war.
The courier smiled, holding out a package with the seal of the Land of Rivers on it, indicating the point of origin.
'Sho-sa! He wrote just like he promised!' Motoko excitedly thought as she placed her hand on it. After a few seconds, the bands holding the package shut changed from black to forest green; indicating the person touching it was the intended recipient.
The courier-nin pulled out a piece of paper. "Identity confirmed; package delivered." He said, causing the paper to glow for a moment, before biting his thumb hard enough to draw blood! Before she could ask what he was doing, the man pressed his bloody hand to the ground; causing a spider web of text to briefly form before a courier hawk appeared in the middle.
Motoko's eyes widened; she'd heard of the summoning jutsu, but this was the first time she's actually seen it performed!
The courier-nin rolled up the piece of paper and tucked it into the hawk's ankle holder. "Mizumiyo Palace mail center." He ordered, pulling the hood covering its head off. The bird leapt into the air, flying off to the southeast. The courier-nin nodded to Motoko before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Hata, with her curious mother in tow, carried the package over to the kitchen table. "Kaifuu!" She ordered as she touched the seal. The wrappings around the package melted away without a trace. The contents were two standard envelopes and a book wrapped with multiple explosive tags! Fortunately – as she was not a ninja – her mother didn't recognize them as something dangerous.
Frowning, she looked at the tags but quickly saw that they were set to be triggered only if someone attempted to peel them off without a password. She quietly slipped the book into her yukata's pocket, hoping that the letters would have an explanation!
The top letter was addressed "Motoko-chan" and was in Kimiko Itou's handwriting, while the other… Motoko felt a blush color her cheeks.
"To my Goddess of the Dawn…" Her mom read with a chuckle. "Did my baby girl find an admirer while on her international mission?"
"Kaasan!" A flustered Motoko cried.
"What?" Her mother asked with a grin. "Nothing wrong with that; I had to beat them off with a stick when I was a teen… Whacked your father with it more than once, too! Thankfully for me and lucky for you, he was persistent." She said with a wistful smile.
The kunoichi frowned in surprise. "So you're not going to give me a lecture or another talk about the birds & the bees?"
Motoko's mother kissed her daughter on the forehead and pulled her close. "Baby, you've managed to become a Genin. You may have a few more years of growing left to do, but I'm going to treat you as the young adult you are. I will always be here if you need someone to talk things out with – judgement free, but I don't guarantee that I won't express concerns if they're warranted – for as long as I live."
"Does the same go for Rai?" Motoko asked, sniffing back tears.
"Oh HELL no." Kaasan said expressively and grinned, ruffling her daughter's hair. "I love him to death, but that boy just isn't wired right! I'm still hoping it's something he'll grow out of…"
"I love you, Mommy!" Motoko said, wiping away the happy tears.
Her mother released Motoko from her hug. "I love you, too. Go on… I'll let you read your letters in private. Just remember my door's always open when you need those talks."
Motoko nodded and ran upstairs. She imagined she could smell Sho's masculine scent clinging to the letter that had to be from him.
Practically throwing herself on the bed, she opened Sho's letter first. Inside were five pieces of paper… She frowned as she read the first one: "The key is from the words you comforted me with. You'll need my copy – as a first edition, it's slightly different from the mass produced ones. Give the page you won't understand and the sealed book to someone in my family and they'll give it to you. –S"
'He's playing the mystery card, the flirt… He knows how much we like puzzles.' Motoko's good side observed as she set that page down.
'Is it too much to hope for that he included a photo of his abs? I miss the sight of those…' Naughty moaned. 'And his chest… And the way his pants tented when I made his c…' At this point, Good clamped her hand over Naughty's mouth even as Motoko blushed, finishing the thought.
The second page was – at first glance – indeed unreadable nonsense… Or would have been before she'd begun spending time with Sho's sister, Karin, the other week. She turned the page and began to look at the unusual letters of Sho's mother's native language. She'd only gotten a few lessons in it so far, but it was enough so that she could pronounce some of sounds the characters represented and recognize a few words. She was able to pick out her name and the very first word… "Sem'ya" which was the same as "Kazoku": Family.
The third page was where it started to come together. The sheet was covered with individual letters that, when read, made nonsense words... Then, suddenly, the first page made sense!
"It's a shift cypher!" Hata breathed aloud to herself as the mental pieces fell into place. Then she vividly remembered striking Sho in an attempt to smack Imaguni when her love was reeling from the revelation he'd killed someone and his second personality had been less than kind. "And the key text starts from the Medical Ninja's Oath in Lady Tsunade's Treatise!" Motoko glanced at her own copy of the book, tempted to try using it, but if Sho said she needed his copy, she'd take his word for it.
She set the page with the cryptogram on it aside and looked at the final two sheets. Both had a complex-looking seal on it that was identical, save that the first one she reached had something in the middle and the last was blank. Motoko looked at the seals long and hard, but neither resembled anything she'd ever heard of before. 'The translation must explain what these are…' She thought to herself as she walked down the hall to the phone.
Quickly dialing the number that Karin had given her during their meal at Ichiraku's, Hata waited for the call to connect.
"Inugamis." A young voice said.
A smile crossed Motoko's lips. "Hi, Lucia-chan… Is Karin at home?"
"Uh huh." The younger of Sho's sisters said before there was a loud clatter as the phone was set down a little too hard on a surface.
There was another clatter a few moments later. "Who left the phone off the hook?" A man's voice, achingly similar to Sho's, yelled. "Hello?"
"Hi, Inugami-sensei! Lucia went to go find Karin for me…" This was the first time she'd ever spoken to either of Sho's parents; they were usually busy in the JRD.
"You just missed her, Shinobu-chan." Kurando made a slight grumble as he mistook the voice on the line with that of Karin's classmate and friend. "A dozen red roses from Flowers Yamanaka showed up with a note from a 'Secret Admirer.' Again. For the third time this week. She headed over there to see if she can find out who sent them; hopefully to tell them to knock it off… She knows she needs to be at least a Chuunin before she's allowed to go out on dates with boys!"
Motoko giggled; even his exasperated tone was like Sho's. Her own father had never felt the need to lay down such an edict; mostly because she'd only ever been interested in Sho, but too scared to say anything. Raiden had figured it out pretty early on, but telling Tanaka-sensei about it during their introductory meeting was the first time he'd ever revealed that fact to anyone else.
He said he'd done it mostly because she was tying the meeting up with her nervousness.
"Do you want me to have her call you back?"
"Thanks, but no; I'll meet her over there. Maybe I can help her wheedle sometime out of Ino or her mother." Motoko said, looking down the hall towards her brother's room with a frown as she hung up. Their pay for the mission down to River Country would have posted some time this week, but a dozen roses with delivery would have run him at least 500 ryou per order…
Even considering that he had a crush for the first time ever, would Rai have really spent a quarter of his pay on flowers?
Motoko picked the phone back up and dialed the number to the bank's automated system. She typed in her account number and her PIN. She'd had about 10,000 in her account before they'd left for their month-long mission – Raiden tended to be a bit of a spendthrift while Motoko saved for things.
"Your current balance is 160,954 ryou. Would you like to talk to a banker about investment options?"
Motoko Hata, eyes wide in shock, hung the phone up; heading back to her room to dress in something more appropriate for seeing Sho's sister. She knew the pay scaled up on more complex missions, but that was easily 30 times the most they'd been paid for any of the D Rank missions they'd done!
Suddenly, the notion of Raiden being Karin's secret admirer seemed a lot more plausible. And as much as she'd LOVE to pay him back for all the grief he'd given her over the years by spilling the beans, Motoko Hata began to mentally brace herself for the balancing act to come…
* * *
Like Son, Like Family
Date: May 13th, 13 years aNb
Days since Team 11 left Mizumiyo Palace: 10
Time: 1:15 PM
Karin Inugami exited Flowers Yamanaka, a look of consternation on her face.
"Did they stonewall you about the person who sent you flowers, Karin-chan?" Motoko called over to her from a nearby tea house, giving her a come here gesture.
"Motoko-senpai?" Sho's copper-haired sister asked, curiosity piqued enough to accept the unspoken invitation. "Not intentionally; the person that placed the order had been in an cloak and Mrs. Yamanaka didn't recognize the voice. Did I forget we were supposed to meet up today?" She asked in confusion as she sat by the woman infatuated with and by her brother.
In the week since Team 11 had returned home, Karin had become a regular part of Motoko's life, with the two of them typically meeting up every few days. So far, the older kunoichi had only told the younger one that she and Sho had kissed and admitted their mutual feelings to one another. Hata wasn't sure how Sho's family would react and, in the event things went the way she and Sho had dreamed they would – preferably without the nightmare twists, she wanted to give them the best impression of her…
"You didn't forget, Karin-chan." Motoko reassured her. "I got a package from Sho-s… -kun via courier today." She pulled out the Roshsyian script letter. "I recognized the first word, thanks to what you've taught me so far, but that's it."
The young woman with the darker red hair raised an eyebrow. "I get that Sho needed to send a message to Dad with your sensei and that's what got you curious about Mom's homeland, but why would he..?" Karin fell silent before giggling.
"What? What is it Karin-chan?" Hata asked, even more curious than before.
"He says that his Sensei wanted him to get his graduation gift from Tousan back to Konoha ASAP and this message is proof that we're supposed to lend you a book from his room so you can decode a message from him." Inugami shook her head. "Only my brother would send a love letter encrypted…"
"He knows I enjoy puzzles and mysteries." Motoko said faintly as she laid out the last parts of Sho's letter. "Like these."
Karin Inugami frowned slightly, but then a lightbulb seemed to flash behind her eyes. "Oh, these look another one of the JRD's failed experiments that Sho's been fiddling with… It's supposed to be a step up from a coded message but a step down from long-range telepathic messaging."
"This one…" She pushed the one that had something in the middle of the seals over. "…has a message in it waiting to be played. I'm willing to bet the message you need Sho's book for will tell you how to activate the recording."
Motoko's eyes widened. "A recording? You mean, picture and sound? Of Sho-kun? All on a single piece of paper?"
'Maybe I'll get that shot of his abs after all…' Naughty giggled.
Sho's sister nodded. "Yeah. The JRD couldn't get the audio and the video to synchronize… After all, light is faster than sound, but – knowing my brother – he probably fiddled with the settings and finally made it work. He would have had to erase and re-record it dozens of times. This one…" She gave Motoko a coy smile as she slid the other one back. "…is blank and ready to let you send him one."
"A r-recording? Of me for Sho-kun?" Motoko asked, feeling bashful.
'He must miss the sound of our voice.' Good thought innocently.
Naughty snorted. 'He misses our body; just as much as we miss his!'
Rakugan cakes arrived at the table and Karin's face fell slightly. "What's wrong, Karin-chan? I thought your grandmother used to make these." Hata asked, feeling confused.
Karin suddenly looked up at the older swordswoman, suspicion clear on her features. "'Just kissed and discussed your feelings' huh? Liar; just how close did you manage to get to my brother?!"
Motoko's face began to warm, remembering the white-haired medic's hand on her breast. "I… We…"
"Because you had to get REALLY close to him – closer than anyone's been since Saki-obaasan died – if he told you about that…" Inugami practically cried with excitement as she lunged forward to wrap her arms around Hata in a hug. "You FINALLY got all the way through his armor, didn't you, Motoko-neesan?!"
The warmth turned into a five alarm blaze when Sho's sister used the honorific for referring to a female relative. "Karin-chan, I-I-I don't…"
Karin put a finger on Motoko's lips to silence her protests. "Yes you do, Onee-san... Sho spent the weeks between Saki-obaasan's death and the Incident checking every teahouse – LITERALLY each and every one – in Konoha trying to find Rakugan that reminded him of Grandma's recipe; without success." She lowered her finger with a wistful sigh. "After he got branded 'Oni,' Nii-san gave up the search... To my knowledge, he hasn't eaten Rakugan cakes ever since; it hurts him too much to keep suffering the disappointment."
'Oh, crap…' Motoko Hata moaned mentally as she realized something. 'Sho's Unconscious mind just said it was a happy memory; not something that he still enjoyed!'
"Okay, yes, it was a little more involved than just a kiss, Karin-chan, but he… We haven't… We're not…" An increasingly flustered Motoko sputtered in the start of a confession.
Sho's sister smiled at the woman with the brighter red hair. "Don't care. I love my brother, but I LIKE you more; no matter what happens, I'm keeping you. Period." Motoko blushed slightly. "Come on… We've got a book to get you..." A cheesy grin crossed the female Inugami's face as she tugged Hata's wrist. "And a copy of a certain recipe card that I recently found in Obaasan's journal."
"Recipe card..?" A confused Hata asked, her mind still reeling from Karin's unilateral decision to consider Motoko a sister, as she set down the money for the food and drink.
"Nii-san said the biggest problem was that the cakes in the shops weren't made with love… Somehow I doubt that YOURS, made with Saki-obaasan's own recipe, are going to have that problem!" Karin beamed.
~•~
It took the two kunoichi about twenty minutes to travel from the marketplace squarely in the middle of Konoha to the eastern of the two triangular housing sections between the Hospital and the Hyuuga sector of the village.
Along the way, Karin had pressed Motoko further as to what exactly had happened between her and Sho, to which the older kunoichi told her about the two of them having to be Urashima and Konno, but deliberately avoided discussing the shared dreams, the two other personality fragments in Sho's head, or their more intimate moments together.
"I'm back!" Karin called out as they entered the main building of the Inugami family's small three building compound.
Anastasia poked her head around the corner. "Any luck..?" She paused as she looked at Motoko. "Oh, who's your friend?"
Hata gave a quick bow to Sho's mother. "Hello, Inugami-sensei; I'm Motoko Hata."
A beaming grin crossed the oldest kunoichi's face as she practically zipped around the corner. "Oh, my dear, it's WONDERFUL to finally get to meet you!" One of her eyebrows arched, a mirror of the same unspoken question look her son would occasionally give. "I've been wondering how I was going to 'accidentally' bump into you in a way that wouldn't make my boy suspicious that I was trying to meddle in his life, but what brings you…"
Karin giggled. "Sho sent her a coded love letter and asked us to give her the key."
"Oh thank the Kami!" Anastasia breathed in relief, tears welling up in her eyes as she hugged a blushing Motoko, who was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she and Sho were actually trying to make a go of it. "I was worried he'd never get past whatever it was that made him close himself off."
"I wouldn't say he's PAST it as much as he's taking a leap of faith, Inu…"
"Nope! Stop right there." Sho's mother interrupted. "It's Ana; Anastasia if you insist on being formal. Take it from someone with first-hand experience: Inugami men don't give their hearts away lightly… Hell, I doubt I would have landed Kurando if Saki and I hadn't conspired with each other to make him realize how much he loved me. The fact that Sho realized it on his own tells me everything I need to know about you, my dear."
"You make it sound like I was completely clueless…" Kurando muttered in amused annoyance as he entered the room. "I was 17 and you were 14, Ana; I merely waited as long as was appropriate, my dear Princess." He said, giving her a quick kiss with a smile that made his wife melt a little bit.
"Oh, that reminds me…" Motoko said, pulling out the sealed book. "I hope one of you knows what the password is."
Kurando shook his head as he touched the book. "Overkill much, son? Probably our family's ancestral saying… Jinsei wa henkadearu." Life is change.
As he said the words, the numerous explosive tags retracted into a single tag that proceeded to erase itself, revealing the copy of the Book of Namikaze that Sho had used to treat Lord Daimyo Mizuzaki. As the book became visible, two additional papers fell to the ground. Frowning in surprise, Kurando knelt down and scooped them up. He looked at them briefly before all the color drained from his face.
"Kur…" Anastasia began, but he cut her off by handing her the papers and walking off without a word. The man's rage would have been palpable to anyone, but for someone as empathetic as Motoko Hata it was like an all-consuming fire sucking the very oxygen out of the air.
Sho's mother looked at the paper. "Oh… Oh my… No wonder…" She said sadly, turning in the direction her husband had wandered off in.
"Mom?" Karin asked, confused. "What's wrong with Dad?"
Anastasia sighed, looking at the older of her two daughters. "Your brother found some interesting souvenirs for me… Samples of the Satou clan so I can analyze their Kekkei Genkai."
A low growl escaped Hata's lips as she recalled the bitch that had struck her Sho-sa. "Oh her…" She breathed with barely disguised loathing.
"What's so bad about that?" Karin asked, confused.
"Kurando's father - your grandfather, Keheita Inugami - was killed by a Satou when your Dad was eleven or so, baby." The matriarch of the Inugami family said sadly. "And about a year before I came to Konoha, Saki attempted to wipe them all out in vengeance... Even considering the Third War was going on at the time, your father couldn't condone what she did in memory of his father. It took him a long time to forgive her…"
Karin and Motoko's eyes went wide. Sho clearly didn't know THAT side of his beloved grandmother.
"Go help Dad, Mom; we'll get this put this away..." Karin said, gesturing to the book Hata was still holding, as she tugged Motoko's sleeve. "Come on, Motoko..."
"It was nice to meet you!" Hata said as politely as she could while the older of Sho's sisters pulled her along.
"Sorry to drag you away like that, Oneesan…" Inugami whispered to her brother's girlfriend. "But once she helps Dad calm down, Mom's enough of a romantic that she'll probably start trying to plan the wedding if we give her half a chance…"
"It's going to be glorious..." Hata breathed so very softly as she remembered the weddings in the two future dreams she and Sho had shared. Both had been epic festivities befitting a family of the Inugamis' social standing. She shook her head to clear it. "I always wondered why Sho only ever mentioned his grandmother, but was afraid to ask…"
Karin Inugami paused, sighing. "Sho – before the Boar – used to be very sensitive about people's feelings… Shortly after Sho entered the academy, he asked Saki-obaasan what kind of ninja Grandpa was and what rank he held."
Hata nodded. "For the family tree assignment."
"You got it. Grandma got very quiet for a while. She said that Keheita-ojiisan was a very special man; a samurai from the Land of Iron, who'd been disgraced and banished – a status they call a ronin – for failing to keep the person he'd been guarding safe. She said he was honorable to a fault and had died because of it." Karin and Motoko both had to wipe the tears from their eyes. "Anyway, Sho pointed out how upset it had made her to tell us even that much and we agreed to never ask about Ojiisan again."
Karin paused at one of the doors closest to the stairwell. "Just a moment…" The younger kunoichi opened the door to reveal a room similar to Motoko's own; feminine without being too "girly"; a room befitting a ninja in training.
Karin's saber, Shinboku no Tachi – the Sacred Wood Sword, which was said to have been crafted from a piece of wood harder than steel – rested in it's scabbard in front of a painting of a older woman that Motoko dimly remembered accompanying Sho to parents' days in the elementary portion of the academy curriculum. Karin knelt before the image before clapping her hands together in reverence to her grandmother. She may have once attempted the genocide of an entire Clan, but Saki would always be the woman who'd principally raised Karin and Sho. After saying a brief, silent prayer, she lifted a small red leather bound book from the altar.
"Sho has plenty of stuff for me to copy the recipe with in his room." Karin said as she stepped back into the hallway and reached for the door opposite hers, only to pause. She gestured for Motoko to open it before giving her the space to do so.
Motoko felt her heart begin to pump harder. 'Sho-sa's room…'
She took a deep breath before turning the knob. As the door swung open, Motoko's eyes went wide. While she'd never dared imagined being in Sho's room – with or without him – she was surprised at how…
Empty it was.
Oh, there were shelves overflowing with books and scrolls, a bed and an in-the-wall closet that was cracked open to reveal a few copies of Sho's preferred outfit, but there were no keepsakes or trinkets that one would expect a teenaged boy to have. It was a strictly utilitarian space.
'This is a room to EXIST in, not to live in…' Motoko realized, feeling the tears well up in her eyes as she stepped inside and looked around. 'I never knew how little he cared about himself out of fear of the power that saved his life… That's something we're going to have to fix when he gets home...'
"Yeah, kind of a let down, isn't it…" Karin said as she stepped inside, misinterpreting the look on Hata's face. "That is, until you do this…" Inugami pushed the door closed and twisted the lock counter-clockwise. As she did so, several panels popped open on the wall by the desk; revealing a number of green, hand-bound books in a hidden cubby. "His journals."
Karin grabbed the one closest to the door and handed it over to Motoko with a Cheshire grin. "I couldn't resist snooping in Nii-san's room while he was out of town… I think you'll find this one INTERESTING."
Frowning, afraid she was intruding on Sho's privacy and yet compelled to look, Hata flipped open the book to the bookmarked page. Her mouth fell open slightly at what she saw. On one page was a pencil sketch of Motoko herself, leaning against a fence, holding her belly in the middle of a laughing fit. The image was painstakingly drawn to be almost photo-realistic. At her feet was a caricature of Raiden in a pool of blood from his nose, X's for eyes and a spiraling star rising from his head.
'It must have taken him weeks to draw this…' Motoko thought, giggling at the memory the image represented.
"I saw my angel of mercy laugh today." She read aloud as Karin sat at the desk and opened the red journal. "Her idiot of a brother picked a fight with Konohamaru Sarutobi and lost, utterly, when the boy used Whiskers' Sexy Jutsu of all things. Hata-san always seemed to be quiet and reserved; I assumed it was because Raiden is anything but… But as her brother was reduced to an unconscious lump in the street, peals of unrestrained laughter echoed in my ears, giving me an experience unlike any I've ever had before… And then…"
The flame haired kunoichi sat on the edge of Sho's bed, feeling her cheeks warm as she got an unfiltered look into her beloved's mind.
She flipped the page and froze upon seeing page after page of writing that had clearly been written while almost in a frenzy, but encoded in a series of characters that she'd never seen before. The indecipherable text ended and the remainder of the book was blank.
"Karin?" Hata asked, showing her the pages.
Sho's sister shook her head. "That's Sho's personal cipher… It doesn't match any alphabet that I've ever seen, so it is either something really, really old or something that he made up on his own. He seems to use it when he's writing down things he doesn't want ANYONE to know about."
Motoko sighed, closing the book and returned it to the hidden compartment it had come from. 'This was the day Raiden let the cat out of the bag... All this is was probably him arguing with himself about what to do…'
"And done!" Karin exclaimed as she handed Motoko a piece of paper.
"300g of Mochiko flour from River or Rain Country; Land of Rice Paddies product doesn't hold up well." The older kunoichi read aloud. "Fresh sugar canes from north central Fire or Grass Country to be boiled to make 115g of homemade powdered sugar. Cornstarch to be combined with the refined sugar to make powdered sugar."
Hata shook her head. "Hopefully Tanaka-sensei's family knows how to get ahold of these ingredients… 4 fl oz. of glacier ice melt water from the Land of Iron; triple distilled in a copper kettle. Citrus zest to taste, but little man prefers sakura and raspberry in a 3-to-7 drop ratio."
She let out a whistle of awe ass she looked at Karin. "No wonder Sho-sa couldn't find Rakugan that matched your Grandmother's; the tea houses in town don't have the time to do all this!"
Karin Inugami suddenly got a wide-eyed look; Motoko had failed to catch herself from using the -sa honorific. "Oneesan… You…"
Now it was Motoko's turn to put a finger on the other girl's lips. "Our little secret, Karin-neechan." She said with a wink. "Now you know why I came over the second I got Sho's delivery today."
A wide grin crossed Inugami's lips as she reached over Motoko's shoulder to grab a book from Sho's headboard. "Here; I can't believe how calm you've been if this is the first message you've gotten from my brother since you got home! Go!" Karin ordered, giving her a gentle shove towards the door.
Motoko wrapped her arms around Karin in a tight hug. "That's because I used my allotment of freakouts for the year during my mission with your brother." She held up the book and the recipe sheet. "Thank you."
"Just the prospect of seeing Nii-san genuinely happy again is all the thanks I need, Oneesan."
* * *
Message in a Bottle
Date: May 13th, 13 years aNb
Days since Team 11 left Mizumiyo Palace: 10
Time: 9:50 PM
Even with Sho's copy of Discourse, it took Motoko several hours to successfully decode the third page... Mostly because the first edition copy ran heavy on the use of kanji and light on the pronunciation notations. This Lady Tsunade was clearly well versed in the medical arts, but a professional author she was not…
Hello, beloved...
It's been two days since you left and the courier service said it would take them just over a week to get this package to you. So I guess that means that one third of the wait is down, two thirds to go.
Haruno, Itou and Hyuuga-sensei had all better be ready to go the second this is all over, because I'm going to set a land speed record that will make the Yondaime seem like a snail in comparison to get back to you. I honestly haven't felt this out of sorts since Saki-obaasan passed…
I miss hearing your voice, feeling the warmth of your love and the taste of you on my lips.
I hope whichever of my family got my copy of Discourse to you behaved themselves. They undoubtedly told you that the last pages are a special recording seal… And that is what they might have started out as, but – as usual – I put my own unique spin on it. I hope you like it.
When you're ready, place your hand on the 4th page, close your eyes, and say my name.
I love you, Motoko-sa… I hope to see you soon. One way or another.
Motoko Hata's face, by the time she reached the end of the letter, was cherry red at Sho Inugami's words. After seeing the love his parents had for each other, she understood how he could be such a romantic despite a lack of experience.
'But what could he mean by one way or another?' Hata briefly wondered. 'Is he saying he wants me to send him a video message back?'
'100 ryou if you do it topless…' Her naughty side goaded. 'Make him REALLY miss us."
The kunoichi rolled her eyes at herself, but followed the simple instructions she'd been given. "Sho-sa!"
There was a surge of power and, suddenly, Motoko felt a hand gripping hers!
Her green eyes snapped open and there, sitting on the desk; his fingers intertwined with hers, was Sho Inugami!
"Hi there, Motoko-sa."
"Sho-sa! How did..?" She released his hand and tried grabbing him in a hug, but her hands passed right through him. "Oh, it's just an illusion…" Hata moaned, feeling disappointed. "I must have just imagined something touching my hand."
"Not quite, my Goddess of the Dawn. I'm a Kaze Bushin clone with access to a few selected memories the real me stored into the seal." The copy of Sho explained, tapping the paper he sat on. "I only have a limited amount of substance, so I can do this..." Sho's image said, reaching out to caress her cheek. She felt the touch; as gentle as a spring breeze. "…but not much more than that."
'Like a genie from in a bottle.' Motoko thought to herself.
"Why go through the effort to do this, then, Sho-sa? You could have just written a longer letter."
The wind clone gave her Sho's heart melting smile. "I could have done something easy like that, true… But when you love someone, easy is very rarely the right way to show it. Plus, given how much the real me is missing you at the time I made this, I figured you might appreciate my going the extra kilometer." He sighed. "Had I learned the Kage Bushin, I could have sent a genuine duplicate of myself to you."
Motoko blushed at the thought of a fully tangible copy of Sho-sa alone with her in her bedroom, even as her body ached to be able to really touch him.
"Anyways, Motoko-sa, this construct only has a limited number of functions… One is to teach you how to make a Lightning Clone and copy memories into the other seal, but only if you want to do this…" He gestured to himself. "…for yourself. Otherwise I can chat about things the real me guessed you might want to discuss. Unfortunately, I only have enough energy for one or the other, so you'll have to choose. But whatever you decide, you'll have to reply – Kaze Bushin doesn't transmit memories, I'm afraid."
The kunoichi looked at the clone of the mostly white-haired medic-nin, biting her lower lip indecisively. What DID she want to do..?!