W-F-A-E – Behind the Inland's Mist
Summary – Four girls born in different countries of the world, brought together by a prophecy. May their journey be long and perilous, satisfying and joyful...may they encounter those loving and those heartless; the line between love and hate blur, lust and desire mingle, betrayal and forgiveness emerge. Let their journeys...bring them to each other.
Couples – Sakura-F-/? – Ino-E-/? – Temari-A-/? – Hinata-W-/?
You will learn the couples as we go, ^_^''
Rated: M
Genre: Adventure/Romance
NOTE: NO INNER DEMONS! Just so you know. ^_^''
-x-x-x-
Prophecies Birth
-x-x-x-
To JOY; give thanks,
To sip and suck and drink of thee,
To quench the fires within,
To spread the pleasure to my soul,
Thanks be to JOY,
To ANGER; give thanks,
That burns and lights a fire within,
That allows me distance from my pain,
That moves me when I would be still,
Thanks be to ANGER.
To LOVE; give thanks,
That fills my soul with light,
That gives a pleasure shared,
Thanks be to LOVE,
To PAIN; give thanks,
That stops me when I would do wrong,
That gives me access to my soul,
That is the prod to guide me on,
Thanks be to PAIN,
For JOY is the WATER of which we drink,
ANGER the FIRE that burns within,
LOVE the very AIR we breathe,
And PAIN the EARTH from which we grow.
When these four come to birth,
Their mothers soon return to earth,
Souls will return throughout the years,
And they will fight and mend our fears.
.~.~.~.
May the day come...we give thanks...
-x-x-x-
(Fire Country, Konoha)
"AHHH!"
"Kahiko, push!" A man called from his sweating wives side. She heaved her breaths, trying to claim stability once more before an immense pain hit her.
"KYAAA!" She panted as she pushed harder. Finally the cries of a new born baby were heard throughout the small village of Konoha.
"It's a girl!"
"..."
"Kahiko, it's a baby girl!" The man moved to his love and felt his heart stop. His lovely, pink haired, green eyed love, was no longer breathing heavy pants or shallow breaths, her breathing was near extinct.
"A...a baby girl?" He nodded silently and showed her their child. She looked at the circle outline laced in red and noted the outlines of flames in the center of it. "I feel faint; I won't get to help raise her, dear. I'm sorry, love."
"No, no don't say that..." His voice was a whisper in his ear.
"S-Sakura, I want to name her..." Kahiko moved a finger along the cheek of her baby. A fuzzy head of bubblegum pink was seen from the yellow blanket the baby was wrapped in. "Sakura...my beautiful baby girl...I love you." She turned carefully to her love that held her child. "Both of you. I love both of you...take care of her...Kakashi..."
-x-x-x-
(Water Country, Kiri)
"The madam has gone into delivery sir." A woman with black wavy hair down past her shoulders and blood red eyes said, kneeling down on one knee before her lord.
"Have the child brought to me as soon as she's born."
"Of course sir, and what shell I tell―"
"Nothing! She is to be...exposed of, the moment the child has been brought to me."
"Sir! Kill the Madam?"
"Are you incapable of carrying out this task?"
"I...uh, no sir...of course not."
"Then go!"
"...sir." She disappeared, leaving behind a man with soulless white hazy eyes and long straight black hair in a low tie down his back to think over his words.
"Is this a good idea...love?"
"Hmm, she was dying; it wouldn't be too long before she passed away anyways. At least now, the child will grow up knowing only one mother and not two."
"Yes, but Neji darling is already aware of Yuuko. He'll be sure to mention it to the child once older."
"I'll have a word with the boy; he'll mention nothing of the sort."
A woman with, once more, long black hair down just past her waist and pale white eyes, walked into the room from behind the curtain she had been standing momentarily, looking out at the Koi pond. She laid her head on her lord's shoulder, a cold smirk formed on her lush red lips.
Mere moments later, the woman from before arrived with a fuzzy head of dark violet/lavender/black hair sticking from a white silk blanket sheet, she handed the child to her lord and bowed her head low.
"Sir, a healthy baby girl."
"Your mission, Kurenai?"
"...right." She left without a word and the woman left with her lord cooed over the child.
"Precious."
"Hinata. Her name will be Hinata."
"Lovely, absolutely lovely."
"Umeko, take her to her room. She will be presented―"
-KYAAAAAAAAA~-
"...to the clan, after the news of my wife's death."
"Of course."
She left with the child in hand.
'Too easy...now...you child...are mine..." She traced the outline of a rain laced circle with the outlines of waves in the center of it. "And I...am the Lady of the Hyuuga Clan.'
-x-x-x-
(Earth Country, Iwa)
"INOICHI~!" A woman cried out for her husband from the room in which she laid. Her hand squeezed the nursemaid's tightly as her husband rushed in and took her place, grasping his wife's hand carefully.
"I'm here, Saya, you're doing great."
"Heh, how the hell, would you know how I'm doing? You just got here!" Another contraction hit her and she squeezed his hand once more, screaming out in pain.
"Mrs. Yamanaka, I need you to breathe now...on three, I want you to push as hard as you can."
"Mmm," She breathed in and out, in and out, in and―
"One, two, three, push now!"
"MMAAH!"
"Good, good, good. Now breathe, good, good, good. One, two, three!" Again, Saya pushed, she could feel herself stretching painfully and could only curse the gods for making it take so long.
"Alright, one more big push, and it'll be over."
"Come on honey, you've got it."
"One, two, three!"
Saya pushed and with all her strength, the baby was finally free from the embrace of her womb. The wailing of the crying child could be heard throughout the home and village, families gathering at the door to catch a glimpse of the newborn.
"Hehe, a baby girl."
"Let me see..." Saya held her hands out and the wiped off baby was handed to her in a light blue soft blanket. The child had a fuzzy head of platinum blonde hair and baby blue eyes stared into her own doe brown eyes. "You look like your daddy, don't you? Yes, I think Ino is a good name for you, my baby girl, my little Ino."
-x-x-x-
Inoichi smiled down at his wife and little girl, standing up, he made his way to the kitchen to get a drink. Halfway down the hall his heart stopped.
"INOICHI~!"
He rushed forward to his room where his lovely wife and daughter had once laid. On the ground in a heap of blood by the now open window lay Saya.
"SAYA!" He moved towards her and pulled her up into his arms, his eyes frantically looking over her wounds.
"I-Inoichi...ba-by...the baby, protect our...Ino..."
"No...No...NOOOO~!" His eyes hardened when she fell limp, laying her gently on the cold hard wood floor, he stood and jumped out of the window. Ahead of him were two of his closest allies, already were they racing after the monster that had killed his wife and taken his newborn.
"Shikaku! Chouza!" He called out as he caught up to the two.
"How is Saya?" Shikaku asked. "We heard the scream and looked out in time to see someone take off with your child."
"...Saya is dead." His two friends looked at him from the corner of their eyes.
"We will avenge her death, my good friend." Shikaku said.
"This person will pay for what they have done, I am sure."
"Thank you, Chouza, Shikaku. Now, let's go!" The three raced forward and finally saw the silhouette of the fleeing man with his daughter.
Inoichi saw his wife's dead body flash before him and his glare hardened; he disappeared and reappeared before the man, causing him to skid to a halt.
"I-it's not what you think."
"...You...you are the nurse maid! YOU DID THIS!"
"I'm sorry, but these children must be destroyed!"
"Children? Give me back my daughter!"
"I can't!" She pulled a knife and held it to the baby's throat. "Four! Four children in the world, carry a mark like this! ONLY FOUR!" She showed the back of the child's neck to him. What looked like the outline of a flower laced circle with what looked like a rock and tree in the middle. "Of course, only a few know about the markings. I am one of the last, so I can't die. If I do...destruction will fallow if the four are ever to meet." She placed the knife back on the child's throat.
"You don't want to do this."
"No, you are wrong. I do want to do this."
"..." She frowned at his silence until she felt a hand take hers in a tight bone breaking grip. She turned and saw a heavyset man with long red hair that reminded her of a hedgehog. "L-LET GO!" She screamed as her face contorted in hatred towards the men who tried to stop her from completing her goal.
"No," She turned and saw another man, two scars across the right side of his face. He had his black hair pulled up into a high ponytail.
"Of course, squadron Ino Shika Cho; a pleasure to meet you all, but I have to get going." She disappeared, leaving in her place a log. Ino sighed before he once again disappeared and appeared next to her in time to deliver a punch to her gut, catching his baby girl as she toppled forward. His daughter was lying asleep, despite what all had been happening. He checked; making sure it wasn't a type of Jutsu before handing the girl to Shikaku who held her carefully in his arms while his friend exacted his revenge.
-x-x-x-
The three men sat outside. It had been a month since the day Inoichi's wife had been murdered. They sat with Ino in the lap of Shikaku, trying to play with his son who was asleep, Shikamaru. Chouza's son was fast asleep too, not wanting to be without his mother though, he stayed at home.
"How troublesome." Shikaku looked up at the sky.
"Hm," Inoichi agreed.
-x-x-x-
(Wind Country, Suna)
"Karura-Mama, tell me again!"
"No, diffwent tory!"
"Hehe, calm down you two."
A woman rubbed the round of her belly, her brown hair fell over her shoulder.
"Alright then, your mother was my best friend..."
-Flashback-
"Minami!" Karura rushed forward when the woman fell into the arms of her husband, the Kazekage.
"It's time, the baby's coming!" She said in a wheezing breath. The Kazekage carried her hurriedly to their bedroom with Karura in tow. She readied herself to help with the delivery of her best friend. Minami had blonde hair over her shoulder in a braid and teal eyes.
"Alright Minami, this will be over as quickly as possible."
"Which...mmm, isn't quick enough!"
"Heh, sweetie, it never is."
-x-x-x-
The Kazekage had waited four hours before screaming could finally be heard coming from his room. He rushed in and saw his wife pushing. He took her hand and placed the other on her forehead which had a cool wet cloth covering it.
"Again sweetie!"
"AHHHG!"
"Good, I see the head. Breathe...and push!"
"NNNGGA"
"The shoulders, elbows...breathe...breathe...Push!"
"MMMAAAAH"
"Hands, knees and feet! You're done Minami, a beautiful baby girl. She looks like you." Indeed, the girl had the same blond color of fuzzy hair on her head and the same teal eyes. "Let me finish cleaning her and you'll get her."
Minami nodded. The Kazekage smiled and sat next to her, smiling as he held her close.
"What do you want to name her?"
"...what do you think?" He asked.
"Tamera or Temari."
"I like Temari."
"Me too." She smiled when Karura brought the baby out with a frown.
"Karura, what's wrong. Is she okay?" Minami sat up in fear.
"Oh, yes, she's fine. It's just..." She handed the sleeping baby girl to Minami and showed her the child's neck. A circle outline laced in silver and pale blue with the outlines that represented wind and clouds within the circle.
"This..."
"There is a story telling us of four children born as protectors, fire, water, earth and...air...your daughter is..."
"Then...hm, I see. Even if I die, I'm proud. So very proud, Karura, help raise her in my place. Oh how I wish I could be here for her, I will come back one day. That is how the prophecy goes, correct?"
"Yes, the mothers of the children born of prophecy; their souls return to the children later, as they grow stronger, their bodies learn to accept the souls."
"This prophecy, what is it?" The Kazekage asked.
"To JOY; give thanks,
To sip and suck and drink of thee,
To quench the fires within,
To spread the pleasure to my soul,
Thanks be to JOY," Minami said with rehearsed poise.
"To ANGER; give thanks,
That burns and lights a fire within,
That allows me distance from my pain,
That moves me when I would be still,
Thanks be to ANGER." Karura continued.
"To LOVE; give thanks,
That fills my soul with light,
That gives a pleasure shared,
Thanks be to LOVE," Minami smiled a little when she said this one.
"To PAIN; give thanks,
That stops me when I would do wrong,
That gives me access to my soul,
That is the prod to guide me on,
Thanks be to PAIN," Karura carried on.
"For JOY is the WATER of which we drink,
ANGER the FIRE that burns within,
LOVE the very AIR we breathe,
And PAIN the EARTH from which we grow." Minami quoted, her eyes shut as she had already memorized this prophecy.
"You see, it is said that...
When these four come to birth,
Their mothers soon return to earth,
Souls will return throughout the years,
And they will fight and mend our fears." Karura explained.
"May the day come...we give thanks..." Minami finished as she opened her eyes.
"So...you mean Minami...?"
"Mm, she will die."
"No..."
"Love, look at me." Minami said. The Kazekage turned to her and looked into her teal eyes. "I will never disappear for good. I must do this, so that my daughter can carry on a long foretold destiny. Take care of her, and raise well. Karura will be by your side for me."
"Karura, how will she die?"
Karura looked away. "I will take her life...tonight..."
"WHAT!"
"Dear, this was our agreement, many years ago. We had known one of us would be the expecting mother of a prophecy child, we made this promise because we wanted the other to care for our child like their mother."
"...why didn't you mention―"
"Because, there was an equally high chance, that neither of us became a mother of a prophecy child."
"..." He placed his forehead on Minami's hand.
"Love, I am happy to give my life...for my daughters' future. Be happy, that I was given this chance." He nodded slowly.
-x-x-x-
That night, Karura used a killing jutsu, removing the life Minami once had, painlessly and soundlessly. She hadn't even stirred the sleeping child or Kazekage. Leaving the room for him to wake up to the dead woman in the morning and announce that she had...'died in her sleep'...to the clueless village.
"I will protect your family with all that I have...rest peacefully Minami."
-x-x-x-
"Then...seven months later, I and your father had comforted each other, I got pregnant with your brother here, Kankuro love. Now, I will be giving birth to your youngest sibling to be. I'm happy that I will be able to protect Minami and the Kazekage's family, because, you are my family too. You always will be."
"Hehe!" Temari and Kankuro held their mother, the Kazekage watched from the sidelines and smiled. He loved Minami, but he also loved Karura. He would love them both, never would it fade.
-x-x-x-
Me: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please regard me kindly and read and review! ^_^''