The New Ninja (Ninja Assassin Fanfic.)

Chapter 19: Get To Safety

I smiled as the men drank while I played some music. Ukyo and Hotaka wasted no time in throwing back their first drinks. Hotaka may look a little dainty, but he could out drink a lot of people. It would be interesting to see how he does against another obvious drinker. Kagura had poured me some sake, setting it in front of me with a smile as Sion placed a few treats next to me on a napkin. 

"I see you haven't tried the Castella sponge cake." Eduard moved to sit next to me, a curious brick in his hands. There was a faintly sweet smell coming from it. My eyes were fixed on it as Eduard carefully brought a piece of it to my mouth. Before I was able to taste it, I was pulled back as Hotaka's mouth covered the cake that Eduard had nicely offered me. Looking behind me, I saw Sion was the one who had pulled me back, his arms around my shoulders. He was smiling at Eduard, but it wasn't his usual friendly smile. It had a slightly dark undertone. But I didn't care about that right now.

"Hotaka! That was my cake!" I glared at him while I smacked Sion's hands off me. I was pretty upset by my lack of cake and Eduard seemed just as perplexed as he looked between us. But with the amount they were all drinking, the mood quickly went back to pleasant.

A bit of time passed while we enjoyed the company of the others. I was drinking, not nearly as much as them though. As a ninja, I was fairly good at handling my alcohol. If I had to drink on a job to get someone to lower their guard, I couldn't exactly have my movements become impaired. But even so, something just felt a little off for me so I wanted my senses clear.

Just as I started yet another song on my koto, I felt a presence. The men were too busy talking loudly to notice my fingers stop plucking the strings. I knew we were being watched. The gaze didn't feel friendly like those of our friends at the inn. It was as if I could feel the bloodlust radiating towards me from wherever the person was hiding.

"Keomi? What's- hic- wrong?" Natsume peered into my face at a surprisingly close distance. He came out to join us a while ago. Eduard and Ukyo had effectively managed to get the author drunk almost instantly. It wasn't too difficult to do. He was fairly lightweight when it came to drinking. He and Soji both. Natsume's cheeks were tinged red as he leaned against my shoulder.

"Geez, Natsume. You're heavy." I ignored his question as I laughed lightly, my body tipping a little from the weight of him. "How about you go inside and sleep? Waka brought some pain medicine that I can bring you for the hangover you're going to have in the morning."

"No. I can't leave you alone out here with the beasts." Natsume uncharacteristically wrapped his arms around me, holding me against his chest. I could smell the orange olive flowers he kept in his library on his kimono. It was a pleasant smell.

"You think everyone's a beast. But come on, let me get you to bed." I tried gently nudging his arms off me, but he only tightened his hold. "Natsume, please? I want to take care of you when you're like this."

He really is a helpless drunk. It's cute. I wonder if he'd get upset if I said that to him now.

"You're strange..." He mumbled that as he buried his face in my hair. I sighed softly as I wrapped my arms around him in return, gently rubbing his back. He always called me strange but I didn't know why.

I managed to catch Ukyo's eye and motioned to Natsume who I was pretty sure just fell asleep while hugging me. He grinning and quietly moved over to us, carefully unwrapping his friend from me. He laid him on the ground and placed his coat over top of him then turned to me.

"I'll bring him to the room when Ed and I go in."

"Thank you. I feel better knowing he'll be with someone tonight. Last thing I want is him getting sick and being alone." I gently pat Natsume's arm while he slept on the ground and stood up with my koto, wanting to give him some space.