Let It Burn: Death [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 48

"This is so embarrassing," Asami groaned.

Mai laughed lightly as she continued to complain, poking at the fire in the center of the cave. Joon had finally left the sister alone for once for patrol with Akihiro. It had been nearly three weeks since leaving River Country. One of her legs had made a full recovery, but the other was still not at a hundred percent. It would ache every now and again if too much pressure was placed on it for a long period of time. Masaru had left two days ago for Waterfall Country to speak with the healers there for a solution to their problem in order to speed up the process. The Be Fong wasn't sure how much talking would be done on his end to express what was needed.

"You should be enjoying the time off," the older teen stated.

"Yeah, you get to sit back and relax while we work," Kenta teased.

None of them had been on any strenuous missions, all looking to complete C and B-Ranked missions for extra cash to get by for now. Asami was the only one not able to do so and it was beginning to drive her up the walls. The only other member of their group that was out at the moment was Beon, who was collecting their new masks.

"Stop reminding me..." she mumbled.

"You know, someone once told me that I should enjoy the down time when I could," Mai stated. "I was always recovering quicker than I should've in order to get back to work fast or to move to the next location." She paused for a moment, staring into the flames. "Sometimes I wonder if I should've just listened and remained put. Enjoy my time off and doing something for myself rather than others."

The members of No Face shared looks, mildly surprised to learn even a little about the older teen as Asami pressed, "Like what, for instance?"

Mai gave a dry laugh. "There's been more than one. When I faced off against Orochimaru as a Genin once our paths crossed. Or the time I ran into a member or two from Akatsuki by accident. Or the time I got my arm severed off and had to have it reattached before losing it completely."

The adults were stunned into silence by the ninja's history.

"I've survived a lot, and that's only three of them that left the greatest impact on me, but sometimes I wished I had just been able to sit around and be lazy. I wonder if things could have been simpler..." She shook her head to be rid of those thoughts because no one could not change the past. "Anyway, you should enjoy this while you can, Asami. You're probably more annoyed with Joon than anything seeing him dote on you like a mother hen."

Asami threw back her head in a laugh, breaking the tense atmosphere. "Glad I'm not the only one who's noticed."

Mai grinned. It was the first time she was actually open about something in her life before joining them. Granted they were embellished a bit to cover up certain aspects to give them a reason to trust her more, but the basis of them were accurate. At least it seemed to brighten the sister's mood for the time being.

The rest of No Face began to return throughout the day, Beon being the last to enter as the sun set outside. They were all gathered around the fire while Kenta and Fumi saw to their dinner preparations. His eyes turn towards the Be Fong, whom sat near the back of the cave conversing with Takashi. Akihiro lounged nearby and listened in, eavesdropping in silence.

"Sena, with me," Beon ordered. All of their heads picked up to look at him. "We're doing one last perimeter check." Nodding, Mai stood following him out as the others settled in for the night. "You'll need this." She was handed a brand-new mask slipping it into place.

They were quiet moving through the trees and checking for any signs of intruders. As they concluded their search of the forest Beon finally came to a stop on one of the higher cliffs in the mountain, looking out over the valley below. Mai paused as well, watching his back and wondering what he was doing. Maybe she should just leave, feeling as if she was intruding on something private and took a step back to head for the cave when he spoke up,