Chapter 4: Disarray and amazement
Ame; his city of peace.
He had reached his tower, the tower overlooking his city, from which he admired his landscape.
He did not have the habit of transporting the bodies himself, nor of depositing them on the dissection tables where the cold metal cast gloomy reflections on their pale skin.
She was still alive, that astonished him. She had gradually emptied of her blood all along the journey; the shreds of her clothes could no longer hold the life that escaped her. The liquid had disgorged then forming purple and sticky streaks on his back. Perhaps her heart was beating only reflexively, he could not tell what could hang such an insignificant being to life.
Of all the absurdities of which humanity was capable, the one he understood the least was this desire to cling to a useless and painful life. Above this table he wondered if he would have been able to bear all that. If he had not had this goal much more important than his own existence, perhaps he would have let himself die of sorrow. But what did she have?
He did not know how but Madara always knew when he was there and where he was, which caused, as usual, his arrival in the room in the minutes that followed. The lamp overhanging the table lit up, which took the room out of the darkness and Pain out of its contemplation.
"What is this?" Madara hissed between his teeth. At first sight there was only an inanimate body before his eyes; stained with mud and blood. "She's dead."
Impassive face and eyes fixed on the body on the table, Pain retorted:
"Not yet."
A heavy sigh under the mask of Madara betrayed his annoyance at the conciseness of his comrade.
"You damaged her, it looks like she did not make it easy for you ..." the Uchiha insisted bitterly.
Pain raised cold eyes to him as he tilted his head to the side in mockery.
"Is she for you ... or for Itachi?" questioned the orange headed ninja in his usual dull voice.
Madara paused before returning to a more upright stance. He clenched his teeth under his mask; once again Pain was nothing more than a cold soul in a corpse, he wouldn't play along.
"You're very curious all of a sudden ..." he replied.
"I was wondering if you still had the ability to procreate." Elaborated Pain without flinching.
"It's very kind of you to worry about the success of my business" he said ironically, "there will be descendants; the means do not matter to you."
Madara seemed ready for anything to achieve his ends; even the vision of this half-dead woman did not seem to repel him. Given her condition, her survival was not guaranteed.
Despite this, Madara did not attempt to send Pain to Konoha again, which he would have categorically refused anyway. If she survived, he would be satisfied with her.
Izumo had traveled all over Konoha to the Ninja Academy, which he ran down the halls, not quite sure where to go, when he came across Kakashi reading on a bench near a window. At his sight Kakashi looked up from his book, intrigued by his attitude.
"Did you lose something?" he asked Izumo, eyebrow raised.
"Um ... yes," Izumo gasped, "I ... did you see Akemi?"
"You lost Akemi? ..." Kakashi joked.
Izumo shook his head, sighing, his eyes blank. He seemed anxious and thought about places he had not inspected yet.
"What's going on Izumo?" Kakashi asked seriously, worried by his expression.
"Well, I've been knocking on her door several times but she does not answer me ... I'm used to it, she just ignores me sometimes so I did not worry at first, but now ... Several days that I have no news and I have not seen her ... I can't find her anywhere ... "Izumo explained nervously scratching his head.
"... Mmm," Kakashi thought, frowning. "I think there's nothing to worry about, maybe she just needs to isolate herself ..." he said as naturally as he could. The idea that he may be behind this behavior was hammering his mind but he could not decently talk about it.
"Not so long," Izumo snapped, "it's been almost a week since we came back from mission and I have not seen her since ..." he sighed helplessly.
Kakashi had seen her that very evening but he kept himself from talking about it too. He had hoped that she would take the first step to calm the tension between them, but as the days went by, he had assumed that she might not give it so much importance.
"Hey Kakashi!" a voice called behind him.
"Yes, Matsuo?" replied the grey-haired ninja, turning around.
"Have you been training on the plain near the forest lately?" asked the jonin.
"Not recently. Why?"
"Well, I don't know who did but he did not go smoothly! It looks like a battlefield, all the land is returned!" exclaimed Matsuo.
Izumo froze for a few seconds with wide eyes.
"... The earth ..." he murmured in a white voice.
Kakashi's question remained unresolved while Izumo disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. Kakashi and Matsuo exchanged a questioning look. Izumo seemed to believe there was a connection between Akemi and this place. The mention of the land reminded him of Akemi's techniques, but Izumo's concern made him perplexed.
In a few seconds Kakashi got up and left his seat in pursuit of Izumo. Matsuo remained alone with his questions in turn.
Izumo was speeding towards the plain, jumping over the roofs to avoid detours that would waste time. He was soon caught by Kakashi.
"What is it Izumo, what does it have to do with Akemi?"
"Hey, can I know what's going on?" shouted Matsuo, who was also following behind them.
"It's Akemi ... she likes to run there ..." Izumo said without slowing down.
"What? Akemi Kishiro?!" exclaimed Matsuo incredulously.
Kakashi did not look up and kept his pace. He was in no position to judge the worrying nature of Akemi's absence, but Izumo was not used to panic for no reason and that was enough to make him anxious.
Arriving at the edge of the forest they stopped to observe the places. The plain was unrecognizable.
Izumo felt his heart tighten slightly but managed to keep a semblance of calm; nothing proved for the moment that Akemi passed through there.
Kakashi swept the plain with his eyes; at first there did not seem to be any soul living in this place. His attention was attracted by strange bars planted in the ground scattered over the plain. He approached one of them while Matsuo watched as he scratched his head, still not understanding what Akemi was doing in the story.
Izumo did not move. His intuition dictated that something was wrong and he was afraid to find something that would confirm it.
Kakashi took a quick turn and stopped as he watched the ground.
"There was a fight here ..." he said in the most neutral way possible.
Matsuo rushed towards him, moved by curiosity.
Izumo felt his throat dry out more and had to do it several times before he managed to replenish a semblance of saliva in his mouth. He swallowed it painfully and then decided to go see the object of Kakashi's remark.
The latter was standing in front of what must have been a puddle of fresh blood a few days before, with a very sharp circular hole about twenty centimeters deep in his center, also covered with dried blood.
Kakashi watched Izumo, who was holding his breath, trying to think, his eyes swinging from side to side looking at the floor. He looked up and looked around, but what he saw around him looked desperately familiar.
"Kakashi ... I think she was here ... this hole there ... it's the limbo marshes, one of her techniques ... She never uses it without reason because it requires a lot of chakra ... And here, all these trenches ... She knows how to do that, it is the tectonic fracture, it is particularly difficult because it requires a lot of concentration and she rarely does it, she would never have done this technique in training, not with this magnitude ..." Debited Izumo quickly, his face pale and his voice betraying the panic that was seizing him.
"... look, it looks like the break was going in a very specific direction ..." Kakashi remarked calmly, though the uncertainty was gaining him now.
"But ... you can't be serious ... why all this fuss about her?!" exclaimed Matsuo incredulously.
"She has disappeared, Matsuo! Nobody has seen her for a week!" exclaimed Izumo, annoyed.
Kakashi noticed one of the strange black metal sticks near the blood pool, which was also bloody. Maybe there was really something to worry about in the end.
"... she ... something happened to her, Kakashi ..." Izumo said, his voice shaking.
"What?!" exclaimed Matsuo, "like what, kidnapped? What interest would there be in taking her away?" he continued ironically.
"Shut up!" Izumo yelled with an angry look, clenching his fists. Matsuo suddenly stepped back as Izumo turned to him but Kakashi held him back with one hand.
"That's enough! Izumo, take me to her house, we'll check that she's not there, and if anyone has attacked a Konoha ninja, there's no time to lose."
He then totally faced Izumo.
"She did not die Izumo, otherwise her body would be here." He affirmed.
He was really trying to believe what he was saying at that moment. She had visibly defended herself with all her might, with techniques that he had never seen her perform during their joint missions. This led him to think that her opponent must have been really hostile.
He still had to be clear but it was already too many coincidences. He was beginning to wonder if he would not have done better to take his courage in both hands and go to see her that night at the cemetery, perhaps he would have seen or felt that something was wrong. Anyway, it was a bad time to dwell on the past.
We must find her...
So saying, he suddenly felt the urge to see her, to talk to her. After all, they had things to say to each other, an ongoing affair to clarify. It could not end like that.
Muffled sounds buzzed in her ears. This cocoon of warm opacity was her own body that enveloped and restrained her mind, floating somewhere within it.
In her fluctuating consciousness, she felt no weight, no consistency around her, as if all matter had disappeared. Akemi did not realize yet that some of her senses were lacking.
"Can she get up?"
A dull voice was heard, grave and penetrating.
"She is still fragile but she can be transported if you wish Master."
A diffuse heat was felt near her, but the darkness was too obscure, too heavy to be braved by her eyelids.
Madara watched his captive. Her hobbled limbs held back by ties to the bed she lay on, and her bandaged body did not augur well for her. And yet, he could feel that inside this body, bruised and numb by drugs, a small spark was already crackling, trying to rekindle the flame that would burn again there soon.
"Yes, I'll take her away, I lost enough time."
"Good, Master, I'm preparing her for you."
He scanned her face for a moment. Her slightly quivering eyelids betrayed the resumption of her cerebral activity, her consciousness slowly reappearing.
She was not perfect but she was not rude to watch. The gaudy color of her hair and the tan of her skin gave her the exotic airs of the land of lightning, but her unwavering willingness to survive proved her origin. He would probably have to break her first to submit her to his will; to stifle any hope of freedom. This prospect delighted him almost in spite of himself.
"Mmm ... yes ... you should do the trick eventually ..." he murmured softly in her ear.
Akemi felt like she had slept for months.
Realizing the clarity of this thought in her mind, she suddenly opened her eyes. At first blind, it took a few moments for her vision to stabilize and adapt to the darkness of the place.
Around her, it looked like a bedroom in a house she did not know. The only source of light came from a window obstructed by curtains.
She then lingered on her condition. Only her head was mobile. As she tried to move, she managed to feel the presence of all her limbs, slightly painful, stiff, but realized that she was not free of her movements.
Her arms were hobbled by leather straps, long enough to only allow her to scratch her thighs.
Under the sheet that covered her, she tried to lift her legs but her feet were also restrained. Looking down at her body, she saw a bandage covering her chest through the opening of the collar of the shirt she was wearing.
She was thirsty, her mouth and throat were dry, and there was only silence around her.
"Is there anyone?" Her voice did not wear, too hoarse. She cleared her throat painfully and screamed again.
"Hey, I'm thirsty!"
She did not really remember how she ended up there. She had obviously been hurt, but all that came to mind was a pierced orange-haired man, but she could not see what connection he had with her. Maybe he had done that to her, although she did not know exactly what she had suffered.
Her shoulder was sometimes painful when she moved her arm, and her muscles aching from lack of activity, but she could not really judge because the bonds that held her to her bed were far too short.
Strangely, she was not worried beyond measure. After all, what could they want from her; she knew nothing, she was nothing. It was definitely a mistake. By realizing it they had to treat her and she was going to be released soon, that was certain.
"Hey, oh !" she resumed.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed behind the door of the room; a key turned in the lock and the door opened. A flood of white light blinded Akemi, who could only make out two silhouettes. She tried to hide her eyes with her hand but the strap was too short and her eyelids lowered unwillingly. As the strangers approached, her eyes eventually shifted to clarity and her view became sharper.
There was a man wearing a weird mask on his face and a black dress dotted with red spots.
She then saw the man who accompanied him, taller; he also wore this horrible black dress. Looking more closely, the red spots formed clouds. His face was juvenile, strangely smooth and inexpressive.
Suddenly a sharp pain crossed her shoulder when she met his eyes. Her face distorted into a sore grin and her stomach revolted as she reminded unpleasant sensations, the scent of earth and blood, and the horrifying sound of crunching bones.
She tugged on her ties to hold her hands to her temples, which seemed about to explode, but the ties held her once more and she screamed helplessly and frustrated as she threw herself back on the bed. It was him who had done that to her; Pain.
"Who are you?" She articulated painfully despite the nausea. Drops of sweat ran down her temples. "What do you want from me?"
He did not say anything. In fact, it seemed to Akemi that he was not thinking of anything either, as if he had nothing to do with her condition. He stared at her without any particular expression; she could just as easily have been a wall.
He was as indecipherable as the masked man next to him. The latter was standing motionless as well, but it was he who spoke to her with a certain joy.
"I thought you were never going to wake up! Our friend Pain did not go nicely on you, but he is not the type to strive for no reason ... You should have let it go, it would have saved you all this. "
His voice sounded oddly familiar; though she was sure she had never seen this man before.
"Finally, I admit that I was not very excited when I saw you the first time in this sorry state but ... now that I finally look at you in the face ..." the man approached a few steps from the bed and uttered a mumbling of satisfaction before resuming, "... they will be remarkable I'm sure..."
Akemi then displayed an expression of total disbelief.
"... But ... what are you talking about?" she stammered, "... who are you?"
He cleared his throat, putting his hand to his mask, and then joined his hands behind his back.
"You will perpetrate the Uchiha clan." Madara said solemnly.
Akemi paused, her face frozen in an expression of utter incomprehension. She had heard what had been said by this disturbing man, but her brain refused to assimilate it.
Silence came. Between the inexpressiveness of Pain and Akemi's immobility, Madara seemed the only living figure in this picture. With a sigh he resumed, obviously annoyed that his announcement did not have the desired effect:
"You will be the one who will bring forth the descendants of the Uchiha clan." he added impatiently.
Akemi looked perplexed, desperate and then amused. She smiled suddenly, shaking her head frantically.
"It's a joke, huh?" She exclaimed.
Pain was watching. He had himself been stunned by Madara's announcement so he dared not imagine what was going on in Akemi's head. As absurd as this idea was, he knew that nothing could resonate Madara, anyway he was not concerned.
"... But ... what are you talking about...you... are you crazy? The Uchiha clan has been decimated!" she hissed with a hysterical laugh.
Really, nobody could understand the importance of such an act. He clenched his teeth not to get carried away; this little bitch began to annoy him.
He approached her and lowered his mask close to her face. She shrank instinctively. Inside the only hole in this spiral mask she saw a black and shining pupil she stared at.
In a somewhat contrite and threatening voice he said:
"I am Madara Uchiha, the founder of the Uchiha clan."
If his ward had not become blood-red at that time, Akemi would probably not have realized immediately what her situation was. A sharingan; the crazy smile on her face disappeared at once.
"... it's... impossible..." she murmured in a breath, a cold sweat creeping into her body.
"My clan will be reborn, thanks to you, you should be more flattered to have been chosen." he murmured so close to her face that the sounds stung like needles.
"How... it's not possible ... you should be dead ... you're dead!" Akemi stammered, panicked.
"I am ... full of resources, you will see!" he said triumphantly.
He was satisfied now.
He stood up, leaving her dazed, and turned to leave the room. One surprise at a time was enough.
Pain remained still for a moment, watching her. He found that fascinating the complexity that a woman could present. While she had seemed arrogant and relentless to survive in her fight, she now looked like a poor little frightened and fragile thing.
Her sudden change of attitude surprised him even more. Still shaking, she clenched her fists and swelled her chest. Her breathing became strong and she suddenly radiated a certain power, like a conviction. She looked up and glared at Madara. Something had changed in the room, the atmosphere had warmed somewhat.
Madara felt it. He stopped short as he was reaching the door.
"I am a kunoichi from the hidden village of Konoha," she said slowly as a litany. "I'm not alone; my friends, they'll come get me."
The countenance the girl had picked up surprised him somewhat and made him happy too. The moment he was getting impatient for had finally arrived.
"Do you know how long you've been unconscious?" Madara cut without turning around.
Akemi did not seem to react, but Pain perceived a change in her aura.
"It's been about a month ..." announced Madara slowly.
A shiver ran through her and her face paled.
Madara resumed, spinning around from the door.
"A lot of things have changed in the meantime. The pieces of my plan are starting to come in. My little protégé has gotten rid of his master and your dear friends from Konoha are far too busy looking for him to worry about a small insignificant thing like you!" He exulted. "You must know him by the way: Sasuke Uchiha."
One month... Akemi's gaze was lost in the vagueness. It seemed to her that a cold, acidic liquid had begun to flow in her stomach.
"No one came to your rescue Akemi, those in your village have no regard for you as you fight for them, it's so sad!" jubilated Madara.
All the memories, the missions and the sacrifices made in the name of this village by her and her family, all these things poured into her mind like so many regrets, suddenly bitter.
Pain still watched her without saying anything. After what Madara had just said, he saw Akemi's face becoming discomfited; she had become pale and her mouth remained frozen in an expression of disbelief. She looked down at the sheet that covered her but without seeing it, her eyes misted and deeply sad.
Pain had not seen this look for so long; since Yahiko had been killed. It was the same look that had displayed Konan that day, that of someone who has lost everything.
Akemi no longer reacted, she struggled internally not to sink into despair and to convince herself that she would get by without them, but she did not know how.
Madara came back to her and knelt by the bed, out of reach of her inexorably tight fists. He looked down at the floor and clasped his hands in front of him as in prayer.
"You see," he said softly, "you don't matter to them, not more than a traitor."
He leaned over and gently approached his face to Akemi whose eyes filled with tears, then resumed in a whisper:
"But you mean a lot to me."
He stood still; just to see the tears overflow from the eyes of a petrified Akemi.
She could not see it but he was smiling with satisfaction behind his mask as he got up and left the room.
Pain, the silent witness, soon followed the Uchiha. The show had not been as satisfying as he had expected; Madara had won.