Because I Met You

Chapter 22: The Hard Truth

"Alright guys, here we are. The mission description is to get rid of the crickets without damaging the crops..."

Otokaze-sensei trails off while saying that. I can see why. This field is huge! Getting rid of the insects will be much harder if we also have to take care not to damage anything! It's like asking us to take them out one by one...

"That's impossible!"

Maru protests. For once I agree...

"I could just get rid of them right away by setting everything on fire, but if I can't even damage the crops, then how are we even supposed to do this?!"

"Maru does have a point."

Koji responds to Maru's ranting.

"Well, for the grown crickets, I can just use one of my whistles to bring them all out..."

"You can do that?!"

I loudly exclaim my surprise. How is that even possible?! That's awesome!

"Yes, of course, I actually am in the process of collecting whistles that can affect each creature who has a hearing ability. Naturally when I blow in the whistle, the crickets will run away, since it is a frequency that they don't really like. When that happens, I want you guys to take that chance and get rid of them."

We all nod our heads in determination and get in position. As soon as he blows the whistle, tons of crickets get out. I concentrate on my side and use a wind jutsu to slice them all. I look at how the others are doing, and, as expected, Maru is going wild with his fire jutsu. As for Koji, he's blowing out some sort of smoke from his mouth that seems to be suffocating the crickets.

We manage to kill all of the crickets in a few minutes. We then report back to sensei.

"Good job everyone, now all that's left to do is to find their eggs and destroy them."

"Wait, we have to go through all that field?"

I stare at sensei in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Isn't there a better way? Like poison or something? What about that jutsu Koji used?"

Maru asks sensei and points at Koji.

"My jutsu might kill the plants too."

Wait... Poison... That's it! My knowledge of medical jutsu and the different herbs that I acquired from Yashamaru should help me concoct something.

"Sensei, I have an idea. I just need a few ingredients."

"There! It's done!"

"You're sure this will get rid of the eggs, Kiu?"

I give each one of them a vial of the liquid I made.

"Of course it will. It will kill the inside of the egg, since it contains a chemical that only affects insects."

"If you say so... Let's get to work everyone."

Sensei still seems a little skeptical. He'll see just how effective this is, though. According to my acquired knowledge, this should work like a charm.

We all go out into the field and start sprinkling the concoction everywhere.

"This should do it. I'll check around to see if there are any eggs left."

Sensei is still doubting. Well, even I want to see the results, to be honest.

When he comes back, he has a big smile on his face. I look at him proudly, as if to say "see, I told you!"

"Yeah, you were right, Kiu. It worked like a charm as far as I know."

"Alright! We don't have to waste anymore time on this mission!"

Maru... Still at it, isn't he...

"Let's go report back to the Kazekage, then you guys are free to go."

The sun is already setting. We all report to the Kazekage, who gives each of us an envelope. I'll open it when I get home.

I arrive at the mansion, and head for Gaara's room. I open it and find no one there. I guess he's still out. No sign of Kankuro or Temari either. I hope they get back soon.

I open the envelope and find money in there. It's our pay for the job we did. It's not much, considering it was a D rank mission, but it's enough for someone like me. I decide to stay in Gaara's room and wait for him to come back.

While waiting, I start dozing off on his bed and... My consciousness fades...

When I open my eyes, it's already morning. I find someone sitting on the bed, next to me. I get up and see Gaara looking at me with a smile. As soon as he realizes that I woke up, he turns his gaze.

"Good morning, Gaara..."

I get up and stretch.

"When did you come back from your mission? I was waiting for you."

"I came back a little late. It's good that you didn't stay up until then."

"How was your mission?"

"Well, it was a C rank mission. We had to get rid of some bandits that were roaming around the merchant roads."

C rank from the beginning?

"That must've been so exciting!"

"Well, yeah, for a first mission..."

"I'm sure you were able to capture them all."

"We... didn't capture them..."

I look at him, confused by what he said.

"If you didn't capture them, then..."

"We got rid of them."

Gaara doesn't meet my gaze.

"Don't tell me you..."

They killed them...?

"I didn't want to do it, Kiu. But it was the mission. Baki-sensei told us to leave no survivors."

"You really didn't have any choice, huh?"

I guess that is the life of a ninja. I just never faced it. I never faced the fact that my job involves me killing other human beings in the future. For Gaara, it has already happened.

"I'm sorry, Kiu."

"Why apologize to me? I... I'm not upset at you."

I'm upset at the whole system. The fact that humans feel the need to kill other humans is something that I just can't accept. Why did I become a ninja then, if I'm not prepared to face that truth?

"I know you're upset about it; I can see it on your face."

"Well, I am upset, just not at you."

"I understand..."

"Do you want to know how my mission went?"

Gaara's face lightens up and he nods. I then tell him all about Otokaze-sensei, Maru, Koji, the crickets, and my ingenious concoction.