A Not so Sickfic

I'm Not Your Stuffed Animal

Kawaki and Mitsuki were standing side by side, finally able to drop their guard after a long fight.

"Fighting without killing is harder than I thought," muttered Kawaki, spitting a mixture of blood and saliva into the soft dirt. "These guys were tough."

"I personally think they were just desperate. Perhaps now they'll listen to what we have to say," replied Mitsuki, easily regaining his composure.

"Fine..." The Rogue ninja lay face down, cheek smushed against the ground. Swollen bumps of discoloration protruded from his face. One of his teeth was crooked, hands tied behind his back. "What do you want from us?"

"We want to know the full story." Mitsuki knelt down, his yellow eyes gleaming as he stared into the soul of the leader. "Why did you claim that vase was made by your father?"

"...Because it was. That vase isn't real... It's a fake. The dumb guy who they sent to pick it up stole the real one. He switched it out."

"Why would your old man make a counter-fit vase in the first place?" Kawaki folded his arms over his chest. "Doesn't seem very logical to me. There's tons of 'em in stores... Just buy one of those."

"You don't understand! We... We come from a poor family," said the leader, looking around. "These are my brothers..."

Mitsuki narrowed his eyes. There was a vague resemblance, but it was hard to tell under their slashed headbands and swollen faces.

"One day, we were walking through that museum for free. It was ma's birthday. She said something about how that vase would go perfectly with the flowers she was growing in the backyard. Our old man is an artist, doesn't make much off it though. But he was able to replicate the vase almost perfectly. And a week later... It was stolen right out of our house."

"Stolen?" Kawaki glared down at the man over his cheekbones. "You sure you're not making this up?"

"If you don't believe me, go search that old man's house! I bet he was trying to sell the real one for money and give the one dad made back to the museum. It's not like it's perfect. They should be able to tell... But if they do, our old man is going to get blamed for stealing it!"

"Then, why have you been beating people up?"

"To try and figure out who stole it in the first place..."

"That's not it!"

"Shut it, Kimimaro."

"They deserve to know the truth... Our youngest brother tried to get it back. But that old dude stabbed him... We had to take him to the hospital. But we didn't have enough for the fees... So we went rogue and beat up the villagers for their pocket change and intel. Our parents don't deserve to get involved with us anymore..."

"So you're taking the blame instead of your parents... And you've been stealing too?" Kawaki grumbled, but his gaze showed he understood.

"People don't show their true colors unless you rough them up a little," continued someone who Kawaki presumed to be the eldest. "We just wanted to know where that guy went. To get the vase back for ma and get revenge for Hamutaro... But once we found the crook, it was too late. He'd already gone to Konoha for the real thing and hired you guys as protection."

Kawaki stood to his feet. "And? How did the real one end up in Konoha?"

"...We don't know that much. Only what we told you. I swear."

Mitsuki sighed. "We should go report back to Sarada. She's our captain."

"She's also incapacitated right now..." Kawaki shot a look of pity at the rogue ninja. The image of a goldfish flashed into his mind. A certain handmade vase decorated with sunflowers. The seventh. He closed his eyes. "Let's just go beat up that stupid client. He was getting on my nerves anyway... Then we can give these guys back their vase and get the real one to the museum."