Chapter 97: 96. Lingering Suspicions

MrProper

"What do you think? Not bad right?" (Rei)

"..." (Tai)

"..." (Suzu)

They were at a loss for words after receiving Rei's proposal 

"Rei...you do remember we're eleven year old kids right?" (Tai)

"I'm nine" (Rei)

"That doesn't help your case!" (Tai)

"I also don't think that's the issue-" (Suzu)

"When it comes to ninja, at this point, it's fair to say age is irrelevant" (Rei)

"..." (Tai)

Tai couldn't deny Rei's point. In this world, one is no longer treated as a child the moment they put on a shinobi head band. Children younger than them were out on the battlefield in the last war

Their teacher in particular is a Jonin captain despite being young enough to be confused for a Genin

"We can do it..." (Rei)

"Even if Suzu agrees to this, there are still two problems I see" (Tai)

"Um-" (Suzu)

"Enlighten me" (Rei)

"One, where in the hell is she gonna sleep while we're working on the house?" (Tai)

"Mariko-nee's foster home. Hey Suzu...she took care of you for some time right?" (Rei)

"Well...for a time before I moved back into my home. But that's not the what I-" (Suzu)

"See, it works out just fine. Mariko-nee's been eager to take care of Suzu. Every time we go over there she's always going on about Suzu moving into her home" (Rei)

"Okay, that might work. What about tools and resources?" (Tai)

"Already got it covered" (Rei)

"I really don't want you spending money for my-!" (Suzu)

"You got that kind of cash on you?" (Tai)

"As of recently, yeah. I wasn't just relaxing during my stay in the hospital" (Rei)

"...Are you really a kid?" (Tai)

"You raise an interesting philosophical question" (Rei)

CLAP!

"Guys!" (Suzu)

"?!" (Rei & Tai)

Turning their attention to the subject of their debate, Suzu made her stance clear

"You don't owe me anything Rei" (Suzu)

"It's not just about owing, it's something I wanna do" (Rei)

"Give it up Suzu. If there's one thing I've learned after hanging out with this weirdo, it's when he decides on doing something, no one can stop him" (Tai)

"..." (Suzu)

"Even if you say no now, he'd probably just come back later and find a way to convince you" (Tai)

"Yup, or I'd just do it secret" (Rei)

"What do you mean in secret?! You can't just mess with someone's house!" (Tai)

"I'm improving the house thank you very much" (Rei)

"Ugh...you're unbelievable" (Tai)

"Heh! If I can't stop him, I might as well let him. It's also a good daily activity for these training bracelets" (Suzu)

"Right, I was thinking the same thing. Rebuilding a house isn't gonna happen in a day after all" (Rei) 

{What's wrong with these two? They're a pair of training lunatics! Friggin' birds of a feather!} (Tai)

Tai didn't know what bothered him more. Rei's absurd plan, or the fact Suzu was going along with it

"We obviously can't start today, gimme a week and I'll be here with the supplies" (Rei)

"Sigh...well, at least we're giving Mariko-san time to prepare for Suzu" (Tai)

"Mm. Fortunately, I don't have much, the only thing of value to me is that shrine" (Suzu)

"In that case, maybe it's time I gave you two a certain Jutsu" (Rei)

Rei pointed to the red armbands on his wrists

"Oh, the Kuchiyose: Raikō Kenka1Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creationtechnique right?" (Suzu)

"Being able to summon weapons and items whenever I want would come in handy, especially for the oils I use" (Tai)

POOF!

Rei summoned two scrolls and wrote down the necessary steps for the Jutsu before handing them over

"You'll have to use your own giant scroll as a true medium to carry your belongings but at least now you'll have the technique. Since you guys still wear the standard Kumo wrist bands, you can just fit the seal tag under or sew it into your clothing" (Rei)

"Thanks" (Suzu)

"What she said" (Tai)

Rei and Tai took their leave as Suzu saw them out

"Things never get boring with you" (Tai)

"Good, the eccentric are usually the most brilliant" (Rei)

"Or crazy" (Tai)

"To each his own Tai, to each his own" (Rei)

"..." (Suzu)

"There's someone I need to talk to, we'll meet here again in a week" (Rei)

"As for the so-called resources...since you haven't told us how you're getting them, I hope it's not anything illegal!" (Tai)

"Relax, the money I made during my time in the hospital was legit" (Rei)

"In other words, you came up with a way to make money quickly and didn't say anything because...you don't wanna share" (Tai)

"Yeah, pretty much" (Rei)

"Greedy little punk" (Tai)

"That's fair, see you in a week!" (Rei)

A light smirk formed on Suzu's face as the departing boys could no longer be seen. Returning inside, she sat down before the house shrine

"Well mom, dad...those two were my squad mates. Quite an interesting pair aren't they?" (Suzu)

♦♦♦

Around the center of Kumogakure

The ninja Motoi entered an apartment complex. His eyes wandered as he waltzed around, trying to locate a certain condo. After a minute of searching, he could spot his destination several stories up

Leisurely walking up the stairs, he stopped in front the room he was looking for and knocked. Footsteps could be heard approaching as the door opened

KLUNK!

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"Motoi?"

"Sorry to bother you after we just met but...there's something I need to discuss with you" (Motoi)

"...Come in"

"Thank you" (Motoi)

Sensing the seriousness in his voice, the house owner invited Motoi in. Glancing outside to see if anyone followed him, the young man closed the door

"No need to be on alert. Although what I want to discuss is a private matter, it's nothing so serious. More speculation really" (Motoi)

"All right, you have my attention"

"I wanted to talk about your student" (Motoi)

"...Which one?"

"You know who I'm talking about, Tango" (Motoi)

"...Rei" (Tango)

Tango had put the thought in the back of his mind. While he did have his suspicions, weeks of normal behavior in the hospital disparaged any negative thoughts of Rei, or his statements

Despite his usual, rational way of thinking, Tango didn't want to look at his student with doubt

"As a former intelligence member, you of all people should know there's something off about Rei's testimony" (Motoi)

"What exactly did you find wrong with it?" (Tango)

"Despite her transformation, Yugito recalled everything that happened to the moment she was knocked out. Suzu's report coincides with her own as well. The enemy sealing team showed up, suppressed her, then blew the Genin away with a paper bomb" (Motoi)

"So?" (Tango)

"But your team found Rei not by Suzu, but far away, covered in what was left of the Fuma. I've been around my fair share of paper bombs, and I know if a bomb carried enough force to blast him THAT far away, both Suzu and Rei shouldn't be alive right now" (Motoi)

"It's not impossible Motoi" (Tango)

"True. Though he'd still have external injuries, yet somehow, his chakra network was the only thing damaged. The only time I've seen that kind of damage is when a member of the Hyuga Clan targets someone's Tenketsu2Chakra Points" (Motoi)

"A paper bomb wouldn't...couldn't do that kind of damage. And then there are the bodies..." (Tango)

"Toroi described the scene to me, he said the Fuma appeared as if they went through a compactor. Calling it gruesome, like something out of a horror story" (Motoi)

Tango glared at Motoi

"You're saying my student is capable of such atrocities?" (Tango)

"Don't look at me like that, I'm simply stating facts" (Motoi)

"What if it was someone else?" (Tango)

"There were no other prints found on the ground. If said rescuer managed to brutally kill an entire troop of Fuma, erase their tracks, then somehow damage Rei's chakra network and place him next to the bodies for...reasons. It's possible, but highly unlikely" (Motoi)

Motoi had a valid point. Why would someone go to the trouble of rescuing Rei, only to hurt him and purposely leave him alive? There were too many contradictions

"There's a reason you're saying this...get to the point Motoi" (Tango)

"I have a proposal, let me take Rei on a mission" (Motoi)

"A mission? Where...and why?" (Tango)

"You may not have heard since you were the first to leave our meeting earlier today but...we just received word from F. His team may have a lead on the events which took place that day" (Motoi)

"A lead? Like a source or witness?" (Tango)

"Though I can't say for sure, but yes. Someone who can shed some light on the other clan that aided the Fuma" (Motoi)

{The "man in the white robe" Hikaru-senpai mentioned} "And you want to take Rei with you?" (Tango)

"Being someone who was actually there, his insight could be of help. And, it gives us a chance to feel him out, to see if he left out any details in his story" (Motoi)

"Just you and him?" (Tango)

"We'll rendezvous with F and his squad" (Motoi)

Tango turned around and sat on a chair, not uttering a word. Considering whether or not to accept Motoi's proposal

"You know you can't take him with just MY approval right?" (Tango)

"I already have permission from Raikage-sama" (Motoi)

"You went to Raikage-sama already?" (Tango)

"He went to me" (Motoi)

"?!" (Tango)

"Don't look so shocked. Out of everyone in his inner circle, I'm the only one who doesn't have ties with Rei. He knows I can look at this objectively, with no bias whatsoever. He just didn't say anything during our meeting with Tekkan today because Mabui was there. Didn't want to upset his assistant" (Motoi)

"..." (Tango)

"I'm not gonna treat him like a criminal, we're just verifying his testimony. If he really was responsible, then it means he saved Yugito and Suzu's lives. The only offense would be lying on a mission report, something we take very seriously" (Motoi)

Tango couldn't deny his curiosity. If Rei was responsible, the first question would be how in the world could a barely nine year old Genin take out that many adult shinobi so quickly...and brutally

It was the smart thing to do, but putting his own student under investigation left a bad taste in his mouth

"I don't like it" (Tango)

"Neither do I, he's a fellow Kumogakure shinobi after all. But we can't let our feelings cloud our judgement" (Motoi)

{Right, because you of all people have never been emotional} (Tango)

"If you need some time to-" (Motoi)

"Haaaa...wait" (Tango)

"Hm?" (Motoi)

"Fine. Do it" (Tango)

"I'll see to preparations. When we receive the next report from F, we'll head out" (Motoi)

Motoi gave a light bow to Tango and proceeded to leave. Just as he opened the door, Tango gave him some final words

"A word of advice Motoi" (Tango)

"Yes?" (Motoi)

"About Rei's safety..." (Tango)

"He comes to any harm and you'll make me regret it?" (Motoi)

"Oh no, I won't get the chance" (Tango)

"?" (Motoi)

"It's not my wrath you have to worry about...it's Mabui's" (Tango)

"..." (Motoi)

"There's a reason why her team is called Team Mabui despite having a Jinchūriki of Yugito-sama's caliber on it. Raikage-sama didn't make her his assistant just because of her skill in Space-Time Ninjutsu" (Tango)

GULP! 

"Not a scratch Motoi, not a scratch" (Tango)

"Y-Yeah...I'll definitely make sure nothing happens" (Motoi)

"I'm glad to hear that" (Tango)

CLANG!

Motoi was gone, leaving Tango to himself

"Because she's always so caring when it comes to her little cousin I'd forgotten..."

Tango shuddered

"She's just as abnormal as Rei is..."

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