Putting to rest

(Sorry 'bout the delay, caught a really bad case of influenza over the weekend, and fuck me, purging every ounce of liquid the moment you take it in is a scary experience. Never in my life was I left that dehydrated...

But yeah, new chapter, a bit of a calming interlude, and then the travels will continue.)

"So... you are saying we should go back home?" Yuya levelled a flat stare at him. For the last few minutes Cole off-loaded his worries onto her and she didn't seem to particularly care about whether or not they remained with Team 7 and Guy, on the surface at least. 'As of late it has become quite a bit easier to read her.' Cole chalked it up to his growing Perception stat.

He shrugged. "It's your call. I mean... I messed up and dragged you into this mess, without thinking things through, at all. So it's only right if I leave the decision up to you." And he meant it. Might Guy and Kakashi may be able to protect them, but what if something went wrong. What if one of them got struck down before he could use his heals. What if the wound was grievous enough that his heal just wouldn't cut it...

Yuya scoffed and her eyes hardened. "Dragged me into this mess? First of all, you are a fucking dumbass - just wanted to get that off my chest. Secondly, I insisted you take me with you, I practically forced myself on you - Don't you dare laugh now! - so don't come at me with this 'wahhh-it's-all-my-fault' schtick. Third off, it was you that got his neck diced, not me." Yuya ran her hands through her hair while her eyes roamed the room for answers. She snuffled.

"Fuck! It was hard to watch, sure, but was that in any way as bad as what you went through, no! I get where you are coming from though. Both of us did fuck-all yesterday, and it pisses me off for real." She craddled her bunched blankets closer to her chest and looked at him. "It... sucked. I really thought these assholes killed you. Forgot for a moment that you are tough as bricks." Though she punted his arm with the same crooked smile as always, there was little strength behind it, drained into the tears framing her eyes.

She collected herself quickly, blinking tears and weakness alike away. "The thing is though, we could get ambushed on the way back all the same. And then we won't have these super-rookies covering our asses. That would suck really, really bad."

"... Right. You are absolutely right. I hadn't thought about that." The concern was warranted. The Demon Brothers had changed their 'm.o.', deviating from the anime. Who was to say Gatō hadn't already send squads of thugs to pincer them and cut off their escape route.

Yuya smiled despite herself, a genuine smile this time and shimmied deeper into her sleeping bag. "Of course you didn't, you big oaf."

"So, you think we should stay? Fight against the big-baddie Zabuza and his sidekick Haku?" Just imagining the assassin's penchant to instantly kill his opponents sent fear crawling along his spine - he couldn't quite heal the dead yet. Although the hypothetical battle between Zabuza and Might Guy was a tempting spectacle to watch.

Yuya scoffed again - almost snorted - but louder and with an added eye-roll. "Of course we don't fight against a master assassin with, hum... what did you say again? Oh right! A giant, indestructible, legendary cleaver as his weapon of choice!" Every single adjective she spat like curses was accentuated by a finger poking his chest. "We will leave those guys to the pros. But! We can test ourselves against Gatō's fodder. From what you told us, they should be at the lower end of the genin level. That way we can get some real fighting in, contribute to the mission and help people out. But you mister! You will either stick with me out of your own volition, or I'm going to chain us together, cuz' I really can't trust you to keep yourself safe."

Sighing dramatically and with mock exasperation Cole fell back into his bedroll, a hand clutching at his chest. "Woe is me, a fate worse than death awaits."

"Yeah, yeah. Keep running your mouth. We both know you are champing at the bit to stick close to a cutie like me." Yuya said, swishing her hair, priggishly looking down her nose and tut-ing like a diva.

Cole responded with a belly laugh and Yuya chimed in, glad that neither of them had lost much of their humor.

After a minute their giggle fit died down and Cole sat up, for what came next he wanted to be as serious as possible. Yuya noticed the mood-shift and eyed him curiously, simultaneously inching away as if he was suddenly sick. He appreciated that she shared the same love for theatrics.

Without much ado Cole bowed deeply, his forehead touching the ground between them. He wouldn't call their tent spacious, so it ended up an extremely awkward kowtow.

Yuya cocked an eyebrow. "What's this now?"

He breathed in deep and exhaled. "I'm... sorry that I didn't detail the risks our travels would entail. It was a stupid, selfish and ultimately childish desire that made me join this mission, one that made me disregard the threats we would encounter - downplaying it all through pure ignorance of the dangers. What happened yesterday could have very well ended up with both of us dead."

It wasn't easy to put aside the rose-tinted glasses, his adoration for the world of Naruto and its wonders, and internalize that the brutality of animation and fiction always lost out to reality. In a life or death battle people seldomly postured and monologued, they simply fought and killed, and Cole made light of that fact.

"Which is why I want to apologize, again and in earnest. We spent the last weeks together, and I do consider you a good friend, Yuya. Which is why, after this mission is over, I have something to tell you, about my goals and the future."

If there was one thing that yesterday made clear to him, it was this: Alone he wouldn't survive in this world. He had no outdoor survival skills, nor the grift-y mindset to sell his modern business expertise and build up a massive, mercantile enterprise. He had made peace with the fact that he would need confidants sooner or later, people that truly lived in this world, and weren't off-world interlopers like him. With their assistance he could manage - he would.

"Say that again, that first part please." Yuya hummed while cleaning out her ears. "I didn't quite catch what you just said." She smiled mischievously.

"Hah..." He coughed into a fisted hand and started over, deigning her whim if only because he found this entire spiel funny as well.

--------------

Interrogations were dragging on. After Lee knocked the literal life out of Meizu with a single kick, his twin brother Gōzu was understandably less obliging than he would otherwise be.

Cole was still shocked that the man had lost his life just like that, in a snap, and Lee remained completely unfazed. Of course, turning on Insight told him another story entirely.

---

Name: Rock Lee

Title: Bushy Brows

Sex: Male

Age: 13

Level: 45

Health: 610/610

Chakra Reserve: 160/160

Vitality: 61

Chakra: 16

Strength: 67

Agility: 80

Perception: 32

Intelligence: 14

Ailments:

Emotions: Disgusted, Wearied, Nervous

Lore: From early on Rock Lee understood that he had no talent in Nin- or Genjutsu. Therefore he put his entire focus into the mastery of Taijutsu, which earned him the attention of Might Guy, one of the world's most skilled Taijutsu users. With their shared passion for training and talent in Taijutsu, Rock Lee quickly grew in power, becoming one of the most skilled fighters of his generation. An unwavering spirit and optimistic outlook on life are what make Lee, Lee.

---

This was one of the things Cole hadn't yet become accustomed to. Shinobi rarely gave in to their emotions and what looked to be a happy, gruel-munching Rock Lee was actually somebody that concerned himself with life and death just as he did. It was easy to discount the feelings of somebody so evidently relaxed and such an happy-go-lucky attitude, and Cole made that mistake with Naruto once already and he didn't wish to repeat it.

'They lived fine without you for over a decade, Lee will get through this.' Cole told himself and wolfed down his hardtack and side of dried fruits with difficulty. Sakura, and Neji of all people, kept a close eye on him, to his confusion. He did his best to look as invested in his handful of plums and dates as humanly possible, right now he couldn't be bothered by the pink-haired healer or the reticent prodigy.

However, Cole quickly caught on that their attention must stem from his powerful healing 'jutsu', in Sakura's case, and how the former did not rely on chakra, in Neji's case. Their respective skillsets uniquely equipped them to call him and his chakraphysics-defying powers out - all the more reason to avoid them for now.

Alas, some people did not have the qualms nor the etiquette to not disturb a man that was digging into his breakfast and almost died a short while ago.

With unbecoming meekness Naruto walked up to him, fists balled at his sides.

He stammered something Cole couldn't quite make out, then he stilled and searched for words. Naruto's jaw clenched, his eyes ran over every single person in the clearing, full of steel, full of conviction, full of promise.

He bowed, stiff but genuine, to no one in particular and everyone at the same time. Every bit of chatter died down, every pair of eyes focused on Naruto.

"Next time, I will protect you guys! Believe it!" He practically screamed, a resounding phrase that made Cole smile. Redness spread to the boy's neck, cheeks and ears before he sprang up and ran back towards his seat, gobbling up his bowl of rice with gusto; much of his earlier confidence gone, but never forgotten.

Everyone shared a quick glance, each with their very own thoughts about the matter.

Yuya looked at Cole, he looked back at her. With a big, loopsided smile she whispered: "He'll make it big, won't he?" and Cole nodded, sanguine that the future won't be all that bad.