Chapter 3: The Lonely Soul of Tenrou (Sasuke)
I: Day 1
The air felt different here.
That was the first thought going through Sasuke's head as he glanced around at his surroundings. He was lucky to have landed on his back, granted the fall he had just endured would have almost certainly killed a normal person no matter where they landed.
The grass bore a unique yellow color to it that matched the leaves of the trees lying at the far ends of the clearing. Aside from that little tidbit, the area was rather plain and he couldn't discern where he was or where he could possibly be. The oceanic scent lingering in the air gave him an idea, however.
Sasuke sat up, wrenching his back around until he was granted a satisfying pop. He let out a sigh and called out, "Naruto!"
No answer.
"Hey, you out there?"
A strong, passing wind swept through the clearing, ruffling his cloak violently.
"Hmph," he muttered before starting toward a nearby tree, hoping to gain a vantage point. With a great leap, he found himself soaring high into the air, and landing atop the tree with ease.
A look of discomfort and unease crossed his features for split second before quickly fading away into his typical, stoic expression.
At the top, he was greeted with a scenic view of both a forest that stretched all the way to the shore, as well as an ocean horizon stretching as far as the eye could see.
Must be near a beach, he figured.
As he slowly spun around however, he discovered this not to be the case. He was in fact, stuck on an island, an island with a rather impressive tree growing at its center. This tree held his attention for a moment. How couldn't it? It was immense, its height was comparable to that of the mountain which bore the Hokage Stone Faces back home.
"Where... am I?" he muttered before jumping down from the tree, into the forest below. He started forward, deciding to pay the tree a visit. No doubt, a view like that would grant him a view of something close to the mainland.
That is... if it turned out that he wasn't actually stranded in the middle of the ocean.
II
Sasuke grit his teeth in frustration as he once again attempted to sprint vertically up the massive tree, each time failing miserably. The tenth and final time he attempted it, he glared up at the tree, his teeth clenched in frustration.
Why wasn't this working?
And it wasn't just this tree either, no it was ALL of the trees. Vertical surface walking just wasn't working well for him, it almost reminded him of his days as a genin. Which... he still technically was.
For a solid minute, he tried everything he could think of that wouldn't result in the entire island being reduced to ash. After all, if tree walking wasn't going to work, then water walking surely wasn't an option.
Basic clones, shadow clones, transformation, substitution, the chidori, trying to light a damn match with his fingertips. Nothing was working, in fact, the only thing he could manage to muster was a normal clone... and it wound up looking worse than Naruto's.
What the hell was going on? Why did only his high jump work and nothing else?
He was about to try the tree again, maybe even fry it out of frustration, when he heard a rustle from the bushes nearby. Acting out of instinct, he discreetly placed a hand on the hilt of his blade from beneath his cloak.
"Who's there?" he called out only to a see a girl peek out from the bush directly ahead of him. They made eye contact for a solid ten seconds before she slid back into the bush. 'You gotta be kidding me,' he thought in annoyance before approaching the bush. "Come out or I'll pull you out."
No response.
"Fine," he said, reaching into the bush only to feel something sharp clamp down on his hand. Sasuke comically wailed out in pain as he retracted his hand, finding a fresh set of teeth marks now embeded firmly in his skin.
For whatever reason, it hurt FAR more then it should have. Still, he held in the scream he wanted to let out and quickly reached into his pouch, feeling around his bag for a bandage to seal the open wound.
"You little..."
The girl popped out, a pointy stick in hand and a tin pan in the other. She glared at him and waved the stick in front of him as if attempting to ward him away.
"Begone trespasser!" she cried.
Sasuke shook his head as he finished bandaging hand. He felt some relief, allowing him to deduce that something in the air was causing the pain. The idea that it may have something to do with his inability to perform the most basic jutsu lingered but was quickly pushed to the side for the moment.
He still had this little pest to deal with.
"I-I said get outta here!" the girl cried. "I'm warning you, if you don't leave right now I'll-"
Sasuke took a good look at her. She was short, standing at hardly waist height and had a slim frame, that much he could discern as her dress flowed with the wind. Her eyes were a pale green color, odd considering the bright and optemistic vibe they gave off, and her wavy hair which fell just below her waist, was a blond color that gave off a faint glow under the sunlight.
"Relax," he began, attempting to keep his cool despite the lingering pain in his hand. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"Yeah right, last time this island got visitors, it resulted in a complete massacre!" she retorted, raising the pan. "And don't even try to play dumb, you're here for the Tenrou Jade, aren't you?"
"Tenrou what?"
"There you go again, playing dumb! Why else would you come to this island if not to steal its most sacred treasure?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, or where I am for that matter. If you could provide me that much information... maybe a boat-"
"Take the one you came in."
"I didn't-" Sasuke took a deep breath. "I didn't come in a boat."
"How you got here doesn't matter, so long as you skidaddle back to the main land, we won't have any problems."
"Let me speak to your parents," Sasuke said, completely ignoring her demand.
"I um..."
"What... no parents?"
"S-shut up!"
Sasuke sighed. An orphan, he certainly knew the type, after all, he both was and was best friends with one.
"Last chance or I'll-"
"You'll what?"
"Er..."
"Exactly," he said as he walked over to her and gently relieved her of her 'weapons'. "I just want to talk. I need you to tell me some things and I'll leave this island forever in turn, deal?"
"This isn't about the jade is it?"
"Like I said, I don't even know what this 'Tenrou Jade' is, nor do I care about it in the slightest. I just want to talk."
"Oh, well then," she said, her mood immidiately perking up. "I'm Mavis by the way... and sorry about the hand." She extended an arm, open palmed.
Sasuke cautiously returned the gesture. "Sasuke."
"I know a place we can talk, it's a bit chilly out don't you think?'
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her sudden willingness to speak with him. Wasn't she just trying to kick him off the island a minute ago?
"Sure."
"Great! C'mon, it'll nice to finally have someone else to talk to! My friend Zera'll be thrilled too!"
III
The small town she led him too was barren and, in almost every sense of the word, a ghost town. The hollow homes that weren't in ruins howled as the passing wind flowed through its walls. He could almost hear the rustle and bustle of civilians going about their daily lives if he listened hard enough.
A fair trip down from there, a lone building lay secluded just off the main road that ran through the town. It was one of the taller buildings, dwarfed only by the main tower marked with a lizard-like symbol.
"Here we are, the library, A.K.A my favorite hangout spot! So, whatdoya think?"
Sasuke eyed the structure up and down, then started forward. "Looks a bit drafty."
Mavis puffed out her cheeks in frustration before pursuing the man.
When he entered the building, he found himself looking at a library that spanned numerous shelves teaming with books. Its grey stone interior matched its exterior, and light poured in from the windows a floor above, which also held shelves teaming with books.
"This is your 'hangout' spot?" he asked, approaching one of the shelves and eyeing the book spines.
"Can you think of a better place to be then your local library?"
"Several, actually, " Sasuke retorted as he slid a book from the shelve titled, '101 Ways to Fry Wyvern, Dragons Feast Edition'
"Thats a really good cook book there! Before, when our guild mages came back from missions, they'd sometimes bring exotic meat to the island! I remember having roasted wyvern with mom and dad a few times although the memory is a bit blurry."
"On that topic," Sasuke said, setting the book down on a nearby table, "why is this island so... empty? Where is everyone else?"
Mavis frowned. "You can thank Blue Skull for that."
"Blue Skull?"
"A dark mage guild, the rival of Red Lizard, the guild that used to frequent this island. They showed up one day outta nowhere, killed just about everyone, and burnt our homes to the ground," she said, her expression growing downcast. "It might sound like I was just skimming over things, but there really isn't much to it than that. Honestly, I still don't get why they did it."
"Sorry to hear," Sasuke said, momentarily pausing before speaking further. "I'm afraid the concept of dark mage guilds is somewhat foreign to me."
"Really? They don't have guilds where you come from?"
Sasuke shook his head. "We do, but they're far more mundane then what you've just described. Typically, a guild where I'm from gernally deals with a specific trade. Mercenaries and shinobi and... whatever a mage is, are not among these things.
Mavis tilted her head. "Weird," she commented, placing a hand beneath her chin. "I can't seem to recall any countries in Earthland that DON'T have mage guilds or mages for that matter! You must be from WAY out there, beyond the Western Ocean past Alakitasia."
"Alakitasia?"
"Continent way to the west of here."
Sasuke sighed. Mages, Alakitasia, Earthland, Blue Skull, Red Lizard, dark guilds... none of this was making any sense.
"You ok? You're spacing out there."
"I'm fine. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to spend some time in the library here. Any books you can recommend for say... information on Earthland?"
The apprehensiveness in his tone upon uttering the word 'Earthland' drew suspicion from Mavis. Still, the thought of someone being as much of a bookworm as she was granted a rush of excitement that prompted aid the man.
"Of course!" She stated happily before walking over to one of the shelves and gesturing him over. "Right here you can find all you need to know about the major kingdoms of the world. My personal favorite is that one!"
Sasuke walked over to the shelf and glanced at the book she was pointing to. He found it amusing that she couldn't actually reach the shelf.
"This one?" he asked, sliding the book from the shelf and eyeing the cover. "A Comprehensive Guide on the Hierarchal structure of Fiore... do you really read these?"
The girl nodded rapidly. "Yup, loved every bit of that one! It's so fascinating how a monarchy functions don't you think?"
"Got anything actually interesting."
"Hey... I thought it was interesting."
"Fine, anything simpler? Like a general overview on the world?"
Mavis squnted slightly. "Hmm... there might be something here..." she said, running a finger across the spines until she came across a one book in particular. "Aha! 'Earthland, A World of Wonder'. Its... a bit of a childrens book but the stuff in here is accura-"
"Good enough," Sasuke said taking hold of the book and flipping open to the first page. He took a seat at the nearby table from before and leaned back in his seat, his eyes glued to the pages.
"D-don't get comfy! Remember your promise!"
"I'm a man of my word."
Mavis frowned and gave a half-hearted sigh before starting out of the building.
Noticing this, Sasuke called out to her. "Where you going?"
"I... didn't want to bother you..."
Sasuke shook his head and closed the book. "Sorry, I guess that was a tad insensitive of me. In exchange for use of this library, is there anything in particular I can do?"
"Huh? Y-you don't have to-"
"I insist. Either you take up my offer now or I'll change my mind."
"Well... I'm a bit hungry-"
"I can cook."
"Thats not really the issue here," Mavis stated, chuckling nervously. "You see I'm kinda terrible at fishing-"
With that, Sasuke started out of the building with no destination in particular in mind.
"W-wait! Theres a good fishing hole I know nearby, lemmie show you!"
IV
Sasuke cast his line from the fishing pole Mavis had given him. It was a peculiar thing, and was fashioned together rather well for what it was, that being a stick with a line running out the end of it. There was a surprising amount of effort and craftsmenship put into it, granted one needed to have a good amount of strength to use such a tool.
He started to realize just why Mavis wasn't so great at fishing.
"Sorry about the rod... all our good ones got taken when the island got raided. But I read a lot of books on craftsmenship and fishing, so it should be sturdy enough to catch even a moderately sized fish!"
"No doubt," Sasuke said, eliciting a smile from the girl. "Its well made, there was obvious care put into it."
"..."
"..."
"So... where did you say you were from?"
"The Elemental Nations," Sasuke answered, honestly.
"Hmm... can't say I've ever heard of it. To my knowledge, there aren't any 'Elemental Nations' on the map."
"I doubt you'll find it on ANY maps in this world."
Mavis chuckled nerviously. "You make it sound like you're from outer space or something."
Sasuke remained silent.
"Wait... are you really-"
Suddenly, Sasuke yanked the rod out of the water in an impressive display of reaction time and strength. There, hooked on the line was a gray scaled fish about two feet long, still flopping about.
"That was quick."
"Wow! I didn't even see it grab the line!"
He glanced at the fish who was still struggling on the line and grabbed its tail fin before unhooking it.
"Mmm..." Mavis moaned as drool began seeping from her mouth. "I haven't had fried Ishgarian Gray Bass in AGES! I can't wait to show Ze...ra... wait. Hey, Zera!" Mavis called out, only to recieve silence in response. "Huh... come to think of it, I haven't seen her all day!"
"You keep mentioning this Zera."
"Shes my best friend, and the only other person who survived the attack on the island with me. We've been together for so long... we're practically sisters!"
"That so?" Sasuke asked in his usual, flat tone before extending the fish toward the girl. "Alright then, feel free to take it."
"Er... can you um..."
"What?"
"You know uh... just give it a... lethal impaling?"
Sasuke nodded and reached into his pouch, sliding out a kunai. He held the creature up and shoved the blade into its head, killing it immidiately.
Mavis gagged slightly at the sight. "I never liked doing that you know?" she said, taking the creature by its tail. "Anyways... thanks for dinner! I'll get to frying it up right away."
"No worries, its the least I could do. Now... where-"
"That way," Mavis said, pointing in a direction.
"Right, thank you."
"No worries! Oh and, if you get lost, just wait around for a bit and follow the smell of roasting fish! The smell tends to carry all the way across the island!"
"Got it."
V
On his way back to the library, he came across a peculiar thicket after straying ever so slightly from the path. Was he lost? No, not really. He simply decided to explore while that girl wasn't monitering him.
It wasn't that he was scared of her, she just gave him a rather peculiar feeling.
As he pushed through the dense bushes and low hanging branches, he found himself getting submerged deeper and deeper into the greenary. Eventually, he found himself in an area where there was little light coming in from the densely packed branches above.
Strange, he thought. This was the only place on the island, to his knowledge, that held this much green. Everwhere else from the view he caught earlier, mostly had yellow trees and grass. Even the foliage he saw tended to bear a shade closely matching that of the surrounding flora.
As he pushed on through, he stumbled upon a clearing. It was just about as dark as the rest of the area, and surrounded with foliage and trees.
One thing in particular held his attention. At the center of the clearing, beneath the only ray of light pouring in from above, was a stone with something sloppily carved into it. He approached the sunbathed stone and knelt down beside it.
What he saw sent shivers down his spine.
"What the-"
The words carved into it read, 'Rest in Peace, Zera. My one and only friend...'
Was he really seeing this? Was this a gravestone? More importantly, this Zera person, was Mavis not speaking of her as if she were among the living just a few minutes ago?
As he pondered on just what he was looking at, he felt a chill shoot through his spine. He could feel eyes on his back, yet when he turned to look, he saw nothing.
That's when he had an idea.
He blinked, allowing the Rinnegan in his left eye to flare to life. He was only able to get a brief glance at his surroundings before the vision in his eye went black, followed by a sharp pain that enveloped that whole half of his face.
He wanted to scream, but held it in, knowing his voice may very well carry across the whole island and alert Mavis to his whereabouts.
Upon dispelling his Rinnegan, he was met with instant relief and he collapsed to the ground, beside the grave. He took one look at the name, trying to confirm what he saw. When he realized that he wasn't just seeing things, he got up and immediately started out of the clearing, eager to get the hell out of there.
It had occurred to him along the way, that he had completely strayed from the path at this point and had no idea how to get back to the library. The moment a sigh escaped his lips, the mouth-salivating scent of frying fish graced his nostrils. Deciding to take Mavis' advice from before, he started toward the direction of the smell.
Multiple questions had formed in his mind at this point, but there was one that stood chief among them.
Should he even bring this up with Mavis?