The Dragon Queen // (Under Revision)

Lanterns

Tsuyoi stayed and talked with the outsiders late into the night. Kakashi, as it turned out, was more than just curious. The man had an insatiable thirst for new knowledge. He asked her endless questions about what she'd experienced while inside Naruto and he surprised her by taking out a pad and scribbling down notes as she stammered halfway through unarticulated answers.

"Why was his wa a different color than yours?" He asked.

"I think it's because our personalities are different." She answered. What does that even mean?

"How did you heal him, exactly?" He asked. Noroi, this man is crazy.

"I patched up his soul, like when you deep clean a carpet. Does that make sense? The body is only a reflection of the spirit--I mean the soul. They aren't the same. N-no, wait, I mean—"

"Did time seem to move differently there?"

"I don't remember." But that was the thing. She did remember. She was astounded. She would have long forgotten what had happened by now, but she remembered every detail. The memory she'd seen was the clearest of it all.

She fought through each question, partially because of her limited knowledge on the technicalities of the subject, but also because of her lack of communication skills. By the end, Tsuyoi began to eye the notepad like it was a snake coiled to strike. The pen may have indeed proven mightier than the sword. It certainly was as dangerous as any katana.

"Also, Tsuyoi," Kakashi began, leaning forward slightly. The look in his eyes made her pause. The dark depths glinted with an unrecognizable expression. "Did you happen to notice that after you removed the reiki from Naruto...that potted plant on the bedside table died?"

Tsuyoi stopped short. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the purple kaneshon plant that rested on the table. Before it had been a gentle shade of purple, but sure enough, the flower had wilted and edged in brown. Tsuyoi's eyes went wide. My reiki ratio was off, she realized.

She glanced at Naruto. Sakura was fussing over his bandages. We're both alive...and we both seem okay...maybe it wasn't that far off...Did I miss something? She scanned his being, all his limbs and appendages were intact. What if it's inside? Is he missing an organ? What should I—

Sai, speaking for the first time during the conversation, stopped her rampaging thoughts with a question.

"What's reiki?"

Tsuyoi, startled by the pale boy suddenly talking, stared for a heartbeat. She'd been starting to think that Sai was mute or something. It was easy to have him fade into the background, even more so with her amnesia. "W-well, I know what it is but it's kind of hard to explain. Maybe you could ask Tomoe...she could explain it better..."

"Please try." He wanted to hear her say it. Which meant there was a hidden motive behind the question. She supposed it couldn't have been anything too sinister, but she couldn't be sure.

"O-okay." She took a deep breath. Don't let them see you shaken. "People have a network system that works similar to your nervous system—"

"Oh, we know what that is!" Naruto cut in, loudly. He sat cross-legged on the bed, waving Sakura away yet again as she poked at his bandages. "It's called chakra."

"C-chakra?" The word felt chunky and foreign to her tongue. She'd heard that word before. She focused. An image floated up almost immediately; Sakura with her hands glowing green, too. Not using the same power, but a similar one.

She blinked. I remembered? With no help? And so fast...

"Yeah, that's how we ninjas use ninjutsu! So you're saying reiki and chakra are the same things?"