She surveyed her surroundings for a moment, ensuring no one else was in the clearing. She smiled; it was perfectly empty, the lazy babble of the river and the far off cries of birds, made the only sound. Stepping out of her sandals, she felt like someone had released chains from her ankles.
With tentative steps she moved into the river, relishing its cool touch against her skin. The water welcomed her back with open arms, melding around her ankles, kissing her toes. Closing her eyes, she allowed the water to cleanse her—to wash away the grime of humanity. But then she opened her eyes and what was once a river of water had transformed into a stream of blood. In a panic, her head shot up to the clearing only to meet the eyes of a woman standing on the other side of the bank.
With shriek of recognition, she took a step back only to trip and fall into the flowing blood. As she felt herself sinking deeper into the unforgiving liquid she could not break her gaze away from the woman's eyes. They were like stone, staring out at her with no emotion. She tried to swim but couldn't, she was sinking. She was drowning!
"Mother?"
With a jolt, she shot up in her bed. Had Minato been a normal boy he might have fell out of the bed, startled, but as it were he was close to becoming a trained killer and took his mother's movement in stride, wide eyes the only indication of his alarm.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
The woman took a moment to catch her breath. Her hand clasped tightly on her pillow, trying to reassure herself that she was safe in bed and not at the bottom of a river of blood. Minato waited patiently, even though his eyes were shifting frantically. His mother had never looked so shaken before.
When she finally caught her breath and settled her nerves, she patted the boy's hand reassuringly. "I'm fine, darling. It was a dream. Just a dream."
The blonde did not look reassured. "What was it about?"
The woman slipped out of the bed, in an attempt to avoid the scrutinizing gaze that was all too familiar to her. She looked at the boy and then down at her feet.
"I was drowning," she said truthfully.
"But who was Umeko?" He asked, frowning.
"What?" she snapped, spinning to look at the boy. "Where did you hear that name?"
"You were mumbling it when I walked in to wake you," he said, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. "You said I'm not sorry Umeko."
"I don't remember that part," she said turning her back to him. The young boy's frown deepened, sensing the lie but unsure of what to do. "You should go get dressed Minato. I'm sure Jiraiya will be waiting on you."
Minato rolled his eyes at this, gracefully slipping off of the bed. "I doubt it. He is probably out doing research."
She smiled as the boy walked out.
Umeko
Her insides felt cold, like there was a block of ice settled in the pit of her stomach. It had been so long since she had heard that name. She thought that she had buried it well, under piles of other memories and trivial facts, but somehow it had managed to rise to the surface.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAb
Three women kneeled at her bank, the splash of their laundry mixing with the gurgle of their giggles. Seine watched them with disinterest as she slowly floated past them on the current.
"We are to be married soon," the woman in the middle confided, her voice light with happiness. "Father said so."
The two women beside her gave their joyful congratulations but even from a distance Seine could see the envy in their eyes. What a wasteful emotion, she thought; envy is for the weak and stupid.
"You are so lucky, Umeko," one of the women sighed, all thoughts of laundry gone from her mind.
Umeko sat up a little straighter, basking in their jealousy. Seine paused for a moment in the water, enjoying the trivialness of their lives. She supposed the girl was pretty by human standards. Her hair was a delicate brown, cascading down her back and her eyes were bright and blue. Her neck was slender and curves gave her an air of desire.
"I didn't think your father would allow it," admitted one with dusty blonde hair.
"He changed his mind after the announcement was made," Umeko smirked. "Father only feared he would make me a widow before my time, but now that he has been named the hokage's successor they will have to stop sending him on such dangerous missions."
What a strange word, Seine thought to herself.
Hokage
She wondered what it meant. Would Arashi know, she wondered. It did not matter if he did. She never expected to see the handsome man again and even if she did it was doubtful she would ask for fear of appearing ignorant.
Arashi
Seine had hoped to forget about him but he slipped into her thoughts like a shadow. She tried to beat them away but they always returned with a fresh image of his face burning in her skull. Seine cursed the night she met him. He left her aching with need when she had never needed anything from any man before. It burned her pride, this longing for him.
The three women continued to giggle among themselves as she returned to the current of the river, her thoughts miles away.
Years later she would admonish herself for leaving that one woman safely on the bank. She should have grabbed her silky brown hair into fists and dragged her to the bottom of the river, holding her in her grasp until the life left her mouth along with the string of air bubbles.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAb
She fiddled with the delicate necklace around her neck as she walked through the market, her eyes grazing over the fruits and vegetables without really seeing them. She felt so heavy despite the empty basket at her side. The years had not touched her but time still took its toll on her, the past weighing her down like an anchor of rocks.
Traces of her fiery pride still returned to her as she bowed under the weight of her memories. They had come to dominate her and she allowed it. They had made her into a shadow of her former self. A goddess of the water made humble by sins of the past.
Seine looked down at her necklace for a moment and smiled. Despite the pain they brought, there were some memories she would never give up.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAb
The moonlight was so pretty in the spring, she thought staring up at it as she floated down the river on her back.
"What do spirits think about?" Asked a voice from across the water.
Seine's breath caught in her throat, causing her to sink in the water. When she broke the surface, she was prepared to drag the intruder into the farthest depths of her waters, but she stopped at the familiar sight standing at the base of her bank.
"Arashi," she breathed, staring up at the tall blonde. The man came to sit at the edge, his every move as fluid as a cat. She watched him with great interest, although she was disgusted with herself for being so enchanted by a human. Seine of course would never admit it but she had been secretly hoping to see him again. There were times that she would catch herself glancing to the edge of the woods for a flash of yellow hair or a spark of green eyes. Weeks had past and there hadn't been any sighting of him but now…
"Nothing of terrible importance," she answered flippantly. She took in a deep breath and returned to floating on her back, giving him a dismissive glance as she did so. Seine would rather die than let him know she was quite glad to see him.
"I'm not so sure," he said teasingly. "You looked to be deep in thought."
"Well if you must know," she sighed. "I was thinking about how glad I am that there is no one for me to rescue from certain death tonight."
"That is a thought that makes me quite happy too," he smirked. "Which reminds me of why I came here tonight."
Seine glanced at Arashi with surprise but quickly hid it with a splash of her feet.
He continued. "I came to thank you."
A flicker of annoyance passed over her eyes like a tidal wave. "You have already done so. Don't you remember?"
"I do," he nodded, toying with something in his hand. "But it did not seem like enough."
The object in his hand flashed in the moonlight, snatching her interest despite her efforts to remain aloof. Arashi held it up higher, so she could see it. It was a pearl settled in leaves of gold, held tightly by a delicate chain. She felt her eyes grow wide in admiration.
"Do you like it?"
Seine snapped her head away. "I have no need of such a thing."
A chuckle reverberated across the water and she turned to see the melodious noise bubble from his throat. "Well of course no one has need of it. It is meant to be beautiful and hold no other purpose but to bring you pleasure in wearing it."
"You think I would soil myself with such a thing?" She snapped feeling her resolve grow weaker. "What pleasure would I take from a thing bent and broken to the will of men who cannot see nature has no need of your interference?"
"You have a sharp tongue," he said, scratching a chin appreciatively. "And I find myself wondering who you sharpened it on before my appearance into your life. I'm sure I can't be the only one to have the pleasure of your wrath."
"There is just something about you that irks me so," she explained through half-lidded eyes, half wanting to tell him it was the way he made her feel weak, helpless that tugged at her pride.
"And there is just something about you that haunts me," he said, leaning closer over the water.
"Haunts you?" She questioned, drawing nearer.
"I can't stop thinking about you," Arashi admitted, though it pained him to do so, she could tell. This was a man ruled by no one, needed by all but needing of nothing.
"Why do you think that is?" She asked, her voice a little higher than a whisper for fear it may come out sounding too excited.
"You're eyes," he began, leaning his face casually against his hand. "I can think of nothing adequate enough to compare them to but I cannot stop thinking of them."
She blushed and he continued. "Your skin is as flawless as a new soul and glimmers like pearls."
"You must stop," she said, finally.
"Why?"
"Because you are wasting words," she snapped.
"Wasting them?" He smiled, a mischievous twinkle glimmering beneath the surface of his olive eyes. "How?"
"They are meaningless to me," she said, her words like ice. "Of course I must be beautiful to you. I am divine, untouched by time. Who could possibly compare to me?"
His smile grew wider. "I fear your pride leaves something to be desired."
"It's not pride," she said, the half-lie slipping through her teeth. "It is merely fact. You cannot even imagine the countless men I have lured to their deaths. I take the very breath away from them."
"And why did you not take mine?" Arashi asked with only mild curiosity. There was a confidence in his demeanor that portrayed a sense that he knew answers before the question was ever asked.
"You did not seem worth the effort," she said lightly, unwilling to admit the idea of his face becoming a lifeless mask was more then she could bear.
"I should have you speak with my enemies," Arashi laughed. "Perhaps you can convince them I am not worth the effort of killing either."
A familiar tugged pulled at the fiber of her being. The water demanded the return of its mistress, as the moon lowered to give way to the first rays of the sun.
"I must go," she said, unable to keep the reluctance from her voice.
He nodded with understanding but a frown of displeasure pulled at the ends of his mouth. As she faded into the water, she watched him place the necklace at the edge of the bank as he turned away.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAb
On her way home from the market she stopped by the training ground, sticking to the shadow of the trees to watch her son unobserved. She knew that Minato and Jiraiya sensed her presence but they continued sparring and for that she was grateful. She enjoyed the quiet moments watching her son, observing the same fire, the same power that had surged through his father.
Minato was Arashi reincarnated all but for his eyes. They were blue like hers but they were not her eyes. They were the biting reminder of her sin. The painful fact that Minato was not truly hers.
