"Don't run too fast!" I complained to a faceless figure. For some reason, the person I was with's face was dark and I couldn't see anything, not even what their gender or what they age was. The person was faintly familiar, from what my heart told me. Though my mind had no idea who it was I was following. Even their clothes were blotched out from my vision. Though, I could see myself perfectly fine - so why couldn't I see this person? The person just gave me a smirk that seemed to taunt my slowness.
"You're just too slow!" They replied, not slowing down in the slightest. I groaned and kept following after them. By the time we stopped running, I realized that we made it to an area where there was a slow trickle of water passing through some rocks on a riverbed. Lily-pads littered the water with their pink flowers poking up from the green. Frogs loped away upon our arrival and fireflies flew closely behind them. The grass was coated softly with dew which shone in the dusk light. Trees loomed over us, protecting the pure clearing.
"Wow!" I breathed, stepping in closer to the clearing, "You found this place? It's so beautiful!" I spun around with a happy giggle and landed into the dewy ground, not caring that my clothes were getting wet. The sound of the clearing was just so soothing that I had absolutely no care in the world at the moment.
The faceless person lied down next to me, "I heard you were going to leave soon." My worries unconsciously came back to me with just that one sentence.
"Yeah… I am…," I replied sadly.
"I don't want you to leave, Chiasa. You're my best friend." they told me. I giggled once again, trying to get the uneasy feeling away from me.
"You always have that other friend of yours." I said to them.
They groaned, "But she's the most annoying person ever! She's always hanging around me saying, 'Nii-san' this 'Nii-san' that. I can't stand it!" the faceless person was clearly annoyed by the mere thought of this person, "You're not nearly like her. You're a much better person to be with than her."
"Hey! That's not very nice, you know!" I warned them.
"But it's true!" they returned.
We continued talking until it got darker outside…
My eyes shot opened.
I must have fallen asleep at some point when I shut myself in my room. I don't know what woke me up, but I was perfectly awake now. Yawning and stretching, I turned and looked at the time: 5:34 in the morning. After that rest, I felt a bit better than I did yesterday. My throbbing head was gone and the pain finally subsided. Also, I got a ton of time to myself since Aunty told me all about what happened when I was young. Still, I didn't want to believe it as much proof as was given. The pains had to mean something, the fact that I was one of the only ones who didn't 'receive' the clan's Kekkai Genkai was explained a bit, and the fact that no one penalized me for not having said Kekkai Genkai was also a big give away. Anyone who didn't have the Kekkai Genkai was basically seen as strange and was often an outcast from the clan.
Pulling the blankets from myself, I placed a hand upon the doorknob only to realize that I had tears streaming down my face when I passed a mirror. Pausing to take a closer look, I saw that my eyes were bright red and the tears were sticky on my skin. Did I cry in my sleep? I didn't think that dream was that sad - in fact, it seemed really happy. Why was I crying, then?
Shaking my head, I continued out the door, only stopping on my way to the kitchen to wash my face off a bit. When I made it down the stairs, I saw my family all sitting around in the kitchen despite it being so early in the morning. Even Ayumu who was a lazy butt was up sitting at the table breakfast laid out in front of him.
As soon as he saw me, he gave me a cocky smirk, "Looks like the recluse finally decided to show herself." Immediately, the thought of yesterday blew from my mind. I just went all out on him - I was so not in the mood to take his crap.
"This 'recluse' is gonna whip that lame-ass smile off your face!" I hissed at him, charging after him, but Momma stopped me before I beat the crap out of him. She was used to this, I suspect. We almost fought everyday even if I said prior that he was a sweet boy. He was, in his own way, but today I was cranky and partially in PMS mode.
"Stop it, Chiasa! And watch your language!" Her voice was almost beseeching toward me and it pinched my heart strings a little bit. Then even more when I looked her in the face - there were faint dark rings under her eyes like she didn't get any sleep last night. I felt bad. I didn't say anything to her since what they told me yesterday or even eat anything for that matter. She was probably worried about me. It made me wonder what Papa was feeling. Papa didn't like to show emotions on his face since he was a ninja and all, but a lot of pent up emotions wasn't good for anyone - not even for someone as strong as my father.
"Sorry." I mumbled, sitting down at the table next to Ayumu and began nibbling on some fruit that was laying in a basket close by.
"I totally thought you were going to rip my face off!" Ayumu laughed as if it was nothing. Though, for a split second I really felt as though I really was going to murder him. Guilt washed over me. What was wrong with me? A little bit of information of my childhood really made me like this? I had to snap out of it.
"Well, if you'd just had shut your mouth for a moment then no one would've made an attack on you, you know!" I said as I took a bite into an apple.
"Come on, I've said worse things to you before and you never took it that seriously." He nudged my arm with his elbow, "Like that time you fell off that ladder into horse poop." I rolled my eyes, remembering that embarrassment.
"You wouldn't stop calling me Whore's Shit for weeks." I murmured as he chuckled at the nickname. I kicked him from under the table so Momma wouldn't catch it, "Anymore two cents from you and you'll get the peanut gallery."
"Oh… I'm so scared." He replied sarcastically.
"Will you two get along for once?" Momma sighed, a weary smile stretched across her face. She knew that the question was rhetorical, but she asked it every time we fought. Now that she was being more like herself again, I felt a smile tug on my own face. I was glad that yesterday didn't change our relationship too badly. That was part of why I loved Momma so much. She didn't stay upset at you too long.
"Not in this lifetime Momma," I told her. I heard a snort come from Ayumu.
"Yeah right. You always get along with me when it comes to New Year's and Christmas. What? Do you expect to get a lump of coal or a bad year if you're mean to me?" Ayumu turned to me with one finger in the air, "OK, two confessions: One, Santa doesn't exist. Two, you're the one who provides yourself with a good year."
I glowered at him, "I know that. Don't treat me like a child."
"Well, you are my kid sister." Ayumu told me, rubbing my head. I got out from under his hand and returned the rub on the head. If there's anything I know about Ayumu it's that he can't stand his hair being messed up. When I did, he got up from the table, knocking over what he was eating. I just sat down calmly, smirking up at him.
"OK! No! Just no! Even if you're my sister, you can't touch the do!" He yelled. I tried to stifle a laugh. The 'Do' he called it. It was just too much that I couldn't resist standing up just to mess it up some more.
With rage obvious in his eyes, he grabbed my nose and tugged on it. Yelping in pain, I made my arms retreat to my sides while he let go. To get back at him, I poked his stomach somewhat violently, but I knew he could handle it since he was a man. He grunted and pushed me away from him, me running into Momma who ended the fight there.
"Just sit down and eat breakfast! No more bickering!" She shouted. Reluctantly, we did as she asked and sat down. I finished my apple without another word and Ayumu too. Though, it was quite obvious that he wanted to say something sassy back.
When we were all settled, Ayumu spoke up again, "So why did you lock yourself in your room?" As soon as the question hung in the air, I turned to Momma who gave me a sympathetic look. Sighing, I turned to Ayumu again who was looking at our exchange of glances with complete confusion. I told him what happened last night on my supposed 'special' day. About remembering receiving the Nine Tailed Beast's chakra, about the sickness that I had contracted after the surgery and the amnesia.
"Iwagakure? We lived there?" Ayumu asked which made me surprised. He elaborated when I gave him a blank stare, "Well, I knew we lived somewhere before here, but I had no idea it was Iwagakure. Why wasn't I informed of this?"
"We didn't want you to know at the time since we weren't staying there long anyway. If you do, it doesn't really matter. The fact of the matter is what resides inside of Chiasa." Ayumu turned to me and seemed to face me in a new light. I didn't want him to look at me differently just because he knew what was inside of me. I was still the same person he knew; I wasn't a monster. He knew that. I just wanted him to look at me the way he used to.
"The Nine Tailed Beast, huh?" He said thoughtfully, "Maybe your nickname should change." Although I rolled my eyes, I was silently grateful that he didn't get scared of me. If he did, then I wouldn't know how to react.
"Whoopee… a nickname from Ayumu. I'm so honored." I muttered.
"As you should. I think the name Kick-Ass Chick sounds suitable." Ayumu said, earning a slap on the arm from Momma. She was big about clean mouths. When we were younger she would get the soap out and wipe our tongues with it. Now that we're older, she just keeps reminding us that those words shouldn't be used. Though, it was entirely unfair; Papa used those words a lot too and she lets him get away with it. I guessed she loved him so much that she overlooked that. Maybe I would be like that when I fell in love.
"You know, I had a strange dream last night." I announced suddenly, collecting everyone's - especially Momma's - attention. I sat, thoughtful for a moment since the dream was a bit hazy, "I was there. Well, a younger me, that is. There was also this other person, but I couldn't see their face at all. I can't even give a description. Anyway, the person took me to this beautiful clearing in a woods where there's a stream and everything… Momma, do you remember anything like that?"
You could tell she was seriously pondering it - the way she tapped her chin and all, "Hmm… now that you mention it, I remember you coming home one day saying that you had a 'Secret Hideaway' that Ayumu wouldn't ever find in a million years." I gave Ayumu a triumphant smirk that he passed off.
"I guess we fought all the time even back then, huh?" I sneered at him.
"Funny. The wind can talk." Ayumu said.
"This wind can also blow you into a tree." I threatened.
"Oh gross. It's gonna blow me into some wood." Ayumu returned with a grin on his face. I hated that sick mind of his sometimes.
"It's not wood, it's bark!" I countered. We kept going on another rally of insults and protests that Momma decided to just stay out of because she probably knew it was best to just leave it be since it was almost the fiftieth time we fought that morning.
While we were fighting, Papa came into the room in a formal attire. I looked up at him and saw that he looked stressed out. Ever since yesterday, that was all anyone - besides Ayumu, it seemed - ever looked. I knew that Aunty Kimiko probably didn't care that much since it wasn't her child, but even still, I was her niece so shouldn't she be in the least bit concerned like Momma, Papa and I were? Aunty always was a bubbly cheery person and stuff never really bothered her much - why was this anything different?
"Okaeri, Dad." Ayumu greeted Papa since no one seemed up to do it. I was really glad that he was there to clear the awkward tension. Papa was grateful for his presence too because he patted Ayumu's head lightly with a slight smile on his face.
Once more, that stone cold exterior Papa often gave when he was trying to suppress an emotion face me, "Chiasa, the Leader has summoned you." My heart wrenched inside of my chest. The Leader wanted to speak with me? It was obvious it was about yesterday, since I was probably under tight security because I housed a bit of the Nine Tailed Beast's chakra. I stood up from the chair slowly, my legs shaking. Momma put a hand on my shoulder, passing me something. I looked down and saw that it was a necklace. I looked down at it with curiosity; it was incredibly familiar.
"I believe this is your's. They had to take it off during your surgery, but I kept onto it all these years for the time you would remember Iwagakure. It's a bit dirty, but I hope it makes you feel a bit better." She picked up my hand and set it inside of my palm. Almost as soon as it touched my skin, I felt a charge inside of my brain. The texture, the weight, the color… it was all too familiar to me. I saw that it had an opening on the side as well, and when I opened it up, I saw a blotched out picture of myself and another one on the other side… it was much too smudged with age and dirt to be identified. With that, I put it around my neck, letting the chain slip down almost to my middle. I even felt used to that oddly enough.
"Thanks Momma." I said genuinely. With that, I walked out of the house toward the Leader's office. As I went along, I felt the necklace swinging from side to side which made me giggle as it touched the top of my middle. I wondered what the other picture was, but I figured that I would wash it the next chance I got. Then… I thought, I'll be able to find out a little bit more about my fogged up past.
The Leader's office was polished and expensive-looking as always, but now there was even a picture of himself in row with the previous Leader's of our clan. The Leader's were always the ones who were the best healer's in all of the clan. If you asked me, though, I would say that the Leader we had now was one of the worst. He was conceited, lazy and his breath always smelled like onions. Not only that, but he was extremely old. If I was around one billion, I think I would just give up and choose to die already. Though this guy just loves life so much that he thinks others want his wrinkly hide around a bit longer too. Papa would slap me if he heard me right now, since he respected all the Leader's of our clan even if all I said about them was true. As long as they had the title 'Leader', Papa was dutiful to them till the end.
As soon as I got in the room, I got to one knee and bowed my head deeply at the old man who was stroking his dusty grey beard. He was wearing an impeccably white robe that all the Leader's wear to represent the 'Immaculate Healing' - or spotless healing, in other words. It revealed his hairy chest which disgusted me to no end, "Ah… Chiasa, you've arrived."
"As you have commanded, Leader." I replied, my head still bowed.
"Your Aunt Kimiko has informed me that you know of your past." He said thoughtfully, his voice quivering as if he was struggling to live. Old people's voices sometimes sounded like that. It kind of made me feel bad.
"I know up to a certain extent; an extent that probably benefits quite well." I told him, to which he nodded his head up and down slowly.
"The Nine Tailed Beast was one of the worst Tailed Beasts to ever plague the world…," Leader began, to which I inwardly groaned. It sounded like he was going to go on a spiel, "…One of the worst, in fact. Destroyed a whole village, he did; nearly, actually. If it wasn't for the Fourth Hokage. Its chakra was scattered all over the world and eventually…," He just kept going on and on about stuff I already knew so I just tuned him out for awhile.
"…That's where you come in." Leader said, which caused me to jump a little in surprise. He was going on for about a half an hour and I was starting to think that he forgot why he summoned me here for a minute. I kept my head bowed low, so no one could see the red coating my cheeks. I nearly fell asleep in front of Leader! "You're to leave the clan's village so you can once again regain your Kekkai Genkai as well as adapt to using the Nine Tailed Beast's chakra so we can get back at Iwagakure for kicking the Baaten clan out."
My eyebrows furrowed, "Leader? Can I request a few questions?"
"Of course, young Chiasa. I'll answer whatever you ask of me."
"The reason I got the Nine Tailed Beast's chakra was to get back at Iwagakure, but is that the only reason? Revenge? I'm not even personally involved when it comes to wanting back at Iwagakure…," Leader sat back in his chair, grabbing his pipe and lighting it up.
As he exhaled, he said, "Ah… that could pose a problem, I suppose. Well, I'm sorry, but it was what the previous Leader had wanted you to do. Other than revenge, I have no other reasons to give you." I frowned. Was I merely a tool?
"Another question: Why can't you just release my Kekkai Genkai? The Baaten clan were the ones who sealed it up; why can't they release it?"
"That remains a mystery. The previous Leader had tonnes of files on you, but there wasn't anything about the reversal of whatever is sealing your Kekkai Genkai - it is something powerful, I suppose. Not just anyone can do it; if anyone, you." Leader answered. I nodded in understanding, but wasn't completely satisfied considering it wasn't one hundred percent assured that I was going to get it unsealed. Though, it was better than the first answer he gave me.
"What do I do when I unseal my Kekkai Genkai and adapt to the Nine Tailed Beast's chakra? Just attack Iwagakure?" I inquired. Leader shook his head as he took a deep inhale from his pipe.
"First, I want you to inform us that your mission to gain power is complete. Then, as a clan, we all attack Iwagakure with you in front; leading the clan while us in the back take out the villagers that you miss." Leader told me. I tried not to let it show on my face, but I really didn't like what Leader was planning. It sounded bloody and cruel. Just because the Tsuchikage didn't supply the Baaten with a higher position in life didn't mean that we had to kill everyone that ever lived there. It wasn't their fault.
"What if something happens to me? Like, I die while trying to tame the Nine Tailed Beast's power?" I asked next.
"That won't happen, Chiasa. We know you can do this." Leader encouraged me, though it seemed to be more like pressure than anything. Why would he expect this of me if I didn't even feel too sure about myself? I shook the thought of failing out of my head so I could only focus on succeeding. Though, the bad thoughts wouldn't go away.
"Is there a specific area where you want me to train? Perhaps there is someone to train me to understand the power within me?" I asked, hoping that he would supply me with a companion to help me out here a little. Even if they just sat around talking to me, that would make me feel a whole lot better than just sitting in the middle of nowhere trying to harness the power of the almighty Nine Tailed Beast. Sadly, Leader just shook his head as he took a drag, then releasing it into the air, away from me.
"No. We really wish we could, but there are no Wood Type users to help you out here." He replied. I lifted up my head for the first time I entered the room. It was against etiquette to raise your head to the Leader of the Baaten, yet I was kind of desperate for some human contact while I was trying to work this all out - physically and emotionally. Both of them together were too overbearing. I just needed someone to talk to; anyone.
"Please, I beseech you, Leader. Just some human company would be enough for me." I asked of him, immediately feeling terrible for asking such a thing of Leader. Papa would kill me if he heard me now.
Even though it was obvious that Leader was astonished at my slipping tongue, he still answered with,
"That's fine. It can be arranged. Who is it you choose?" I hadn't really been expecting my choice of who I could bring, but I was glad nonetheless. Surely I could choose one of my friends, but for some reason, I didn't want them around. They would see me weak, helpless, frustrated, angry, annoyed, hating… who would like me no matter what I did? My thoughts came to Momma and Papa, but I couldn't bear the thought of them seeing me in such a state. The only person I could really think of was…
"Ayumu. I choose my brother Ayumu." I stated. Leader nodded up and down slowly as he set down his pipe. As soon as he put it down, I finally felt as though I could breathe. The smoke was everywhere. My nostrils were getting tired of it.
"It's been decided. You leave the village tomorrow at noon with your brother Ayumu. Return once you are finished your mission." Leader said. I got up and placed a fist on my chest as I bowed to the Leader with the upmost respect. Even though I knew he didn't deserve my respect nor any of the other clan member's, I had to obey rules and also, I felt a sincerely deep gratitude for him letting me bring my brother along. If I didn't have that human contact to calm me down when I needed it, or to share a few laughs with here and there… I might as well have become the incarnation of the Nine Tailed Beast.
I left the room with a slight skip in my step. I felt as though I could take on the world and just won a million dollars in the lottery twice in a row. It was such a silly thing to feel even though my mission wasn't over yet - or even began for that matter. Still, just the thought that it was going to be me and Ayumu training for a few months made me giddy with anticipation. Which was another silly thing to be feeling - we weren't always getting along so probably three quarters of the time we would be fighting. I really didn't care; I was happy.
