Chapter Seven:
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Sasuke clenched his fists, both his natural one and the prosthetic. It was often a challenge to hide his distaste for Kasai Arashi. If it had been his decision, he'd have taken a chidori to the sycophant's hearts ages ago. The man was nothing more than a warmonger. He had no higher goal than to rule as leader of Iwagakure. The problem with that, Iwagakure already had an appointed leader, and it wasn't him.
Morrigan had an affinity for Arashi, so killing the fool wasn't an option. The goddess could alter her appearance, but Sasuke saw past her facade. Sasuke saw Morrigan as a cruel and wretched crone. Arashi saw an alluring, beautiful woman. Morrigan had been upset when she first learned that Sasuke saw past her illusions of beauty. Between his Sharingan and his Rinnegan, no genjutsu could fool him.
"Lord Arashi, there's been a disturbance at the border," one of the Earth shinobi reported.
"Which border?"
"The border near Fire. Through the Rain territory there was a huge surge of chakra that seemed to pass through the ground. It set off some of our alarms, but it moved too fast for us to trace," the ninja answered.
Arashi's dark eyes narrowed. "Impossible."
Sasuke's interest was piqued. Huge amounts of chakra, too fast for normal detection, and from the direction of Konoha? He knew exactly who that was. Naruto had never given up on him before and he wasn't about to give up on him now. He wouldn't be alone. No doubt, Sakura was with him and probably Sai. He didn't know Sai well, but from the little interaction he had with the man before he left the village again, he knew that Sai worked well with Naruto and Sakura. He worked better with them than Sasuke ever had. That knowledge made Sasuke a little sad, but then, he'd never been a team player.
His gaze drifted over towards Morrigan. If he had been a team player, he never would have crossed paths with that one. Not for the first time, Sasuke regretted his decision to leave the village after the war. He claimed to miss his clan, but when he had the chance to rebuild bonds of family and friendship, he turned his back on the opportunity. He had come to love his solitude and now countless lives would be lost due to his selfishness.
His fists tightened and his nails pierced his right palm enough to draw blood.
"Hawk," Morrigan called, raising her hand towards him. "I am in need of your services."
Sasuke sauntered over towards the goddess of death. He would continue to do her bidding. There was little choice in the matter, especially with Sakura and Naruto so close by. He hoped that Sakura received his letters and would realize that he had been kept away involuntarily. If anyone would find a way to defeat impossible odds, it was Naruto and Sakura.
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OoO
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Lucy followed after Natsu and Happy to board the train. She carried a light purse with the train tickets, her journal, and a wallet full of jewels over her shoulder. Natsu carried her heavier travel bag as well as his own.
Gray walked alongside her and kept looking anxiously over his shoulder. "What are you looking for?" she asked.
"I've been trying to lose Juvia all day," Gray explained, tugging on his shirt collar. "Every drop of water I see, I'm afraid it's her."
Natsu smirked. "Maybe you should let her catch you."
Gray frowned. "No way. I want to come. It's been too long since our team had a mission."
"Me, Happy, and Lucy are a team," Natsu said with a frown of his own.
Gray arched his dark eyebrows. "Shall you be the one to tell Erza that she's not on their team?"
"I see your point," Natsu said, clearing his throat. He shifted Lucy's bag over his shoulder and glanced behind to meet Lucy's gaze. "This thing is heavy. What all did you pack?"
"It's just one bag!" Lucy protested. It wasn't like she traveled with mountains of luggage like Erza. She had invested in a compartment magic bag that could hold ten-times as many objects as there appeared to be space. It wasn't that heavy though.
"It's probably full of makeup, so she can try to look pretty and date a bunch of strange men that she meets on the mission," Happy guessed.
Lucy's mouth gaped at the suggestion. She hardly ever dated! She'd maybe gone on three dates since she joined the guild. "That is simply not true!"
"Who wants to go on a date with Lucy?" Natsu asked with a wrinkled nose of confusion.
"Excuse me?" Lucy hissed. She could feel her cheeks burning in embarrassment.
"Lucy is a smart, attractive woman," Gray answered. "I'm sure tons of guys would want to go on a date with her." He smiled at Lucy and dropped his hand away from his shirt collar. "Probably a few girls too."
Lucy grinned back. "Thanks, Gray."
"Whatever," Natsu scoffed.
They boarded the train without much delay. Lucy purchased a cup of ginger tea from the refreshment cart in anticipation of Natsu's motion sickness. She sat next to Gray and gave Natsu the seat across from them so he could stretch out for comfort. As soon as the train left the station, Natsu became immediately nauseated. Lucy grimaced and offered the ginger tea.
Unfortunately, the tea seemed to have little effect.
"What is it about dragon slayers and motion sickness?" Gray asked in disgust as he crumpled the empty tea cup.
"It doesn't seem to affect Wendy," Happy said. He balanced precariously on the luggage rack above their heads. "It's just the guys."
The door to their private train car was shoved open and a harried Erza stood in the doorway. "How dare you leave on a job without me!"
Gray's face paled in terror and Natsu hid his face in his arms and moaned his discomfort louder.
Lucy smiled broadly, knowing that of the three she was the only one brave enough to explain their departure to Titania. "It's not really a job, as much as an excuse to travel east. Natsu and I are hoping to visit some distant relatives."
Color returned to Gray's face and he looked quickly between Lucy and Natsu. "You two are related?"
Lucy laughed nervously. "Ugh, no!" It would make her attraction to her partner way beyond creepy if it turned out they were related!
"Oh! Well, then it's a good thing I got back just an hour ago. Mirajane told me about the job request and sent me to find you all here." Erza shoved Natsu against the window and sat next to him. "What are the details?"
Natsu rubbed the back of his neck and looked across the aisle at Lucy. He smiled faintly at her. "I think that ginger tea may have kicked in a little. Thanks, Luuuucy," he drawled.
Lucy let out a relieved sigh that the herbal remedy helped. "You're welcome."
Natsu stood and dug into his bag on the luggage rack.
"Here you go," Happy said, reaching into the bag himself and pulling out the job request paper.
Natsu handed the paper to Erza. She scanned over the request briefly and then read it again slower.
"Nikolai Berezin wants to interview mages from the champion of the Grand Magic Games for an article," Erza said, arching a scarlet eyebrow. She rolled the scroll up and handed it back to Happy. "It's a ploy," she stated.
"Of course it is," Natsu agreed. "Transportation between Fiore and Pergrande is expensive. I don't care if this Nikolai wants something more than an interview. Lucy and I just needed an excuse to travel east."
"For your family," Erza clarified.
"Yeah," Lucy agreed. "Don't you wonder about your family?"
"No," Erza said with a shrug. "I spent my childhood as a slave. Jellal is the only family I had before I joined Fairy Tail." She shifted her eyes towards Gray. "What about you?"
"He's avoiding Juvia," Happy answered in a sing-song voice.
The tips of Gray's ears turned red. He slouched in his seat, folded his arms over his chest, and ignored everyone while trying to fall asleep.
Lucy stared out the window at the passing scenery. "I've never been outside of Fiore."
"Me neither," Natsu said. He covered his mouth abruptly. "I think the ginger tea wore off."
"I have the cure for that," Erza offered. She knocked him unconscious with a swift strike of her hand against the back of his head before he could protest. Natsu slumped limply against the window. She focused her attention on Lucy. "How has your training been going with the water magic?"
"It's been a challenge," Lucy confessed with a sigh. She hated dishonoring Aquarius' memory with her mediocre skill with the element.
Gray sat up abruptly, no longer feigning sleep. "I'll be continuing my training with her during the trip."
Erza nodded. "Good. I'll supervise. I have a couple of Equips that are useful with water."
"How would your Equips be useful with water?" Happy asked. "Do you turn into a giant fish? Because that would be a useful talent!"
"No, I do not have any giant fish Equips," Erza said. She cast her eyes over Lucy in a quick inspection. "You look terrible Lucy. Why don't you get some sleep? Gray and I will stay on guard."
Lucy grit her teeth at the observation, but she couldn't argue. With only a couple of hours of sleep the night before she was exhausted.
"Here, I'll trade places. You and Natsu can sleep," Erza offered.
Lucy exchanged seats with Erza and sat next to Natsu. She curled her legs up under her and leaned against Natsu's warm shoulder. He cracked open a eye, not unconscious after all. He held out his arm and Lucy snuggled against his chest. They fell asleep with Erza and Gray's quiet conversation across from them.
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OoO
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"I do not understand why you won't agree to a contract with me, Reaper," Aeden complained. He held the onyx key in his hand and brought it close to his eyes. "What is so special about this key that allows you to choose your contractor?"
"I will work with you, but I will not be obligated to you, Aeden," Itachi said. He intended to hold out on signing any contracts until he met Leo's master, Lucy. He spent too much of his life working for corrupt people. He didn't want to spend his afterlife doing the same.
"I'm an honorable man," Aeden said. "You can trust me."
"One should never trust a man who peers death in the eye and finds way to postpone the inevitable," Itachi answered. He didn't add that necromancers were rather despicable people in his opinion. He was particularly sensitive about the subject after Kabuto had resurrected his body and tried to use him to kill those he swore to protect.
Ahead of them stood the charred remains of a village. The cinders still burned and the cries of the dying echoed across the land. Itachi felt his power rising as the need to release those souls from their mortal pains grew.
"Ah, perfect timing," Aeden said. "I need to collect more materials," he rasped. "The fresh corpses are easier than the long dead ones. Those tend to be feral and difficult to manage."
Itachi wouldn't allow Aeden to plunder the dying. He would ease their suffering and send them off. He paused before starting his task as three strong chakras approached. He recognized one as Naruto Uzumaki. By the harmonic resonance of the three chakras working in tandem he reasoned that the other two were that of Sakura Haruno and Sasuke's replacement, Sai.
"Someone comes," Itachi said. He used mist to hide his features and obscure himself further within his dark cloak. He brought shadows over himself and Aeden to watch the scene unfold.
"So, then kill them and make me more materials," Aeden whispered. "Why should we hide? They are of no consequence. The important thing is to reach the goddess."
Itachi strived not to have strong opinions about people. However, he was growing to dislike the necromancer a great deal. He watched as the three masked ANBU spread across the village's ruins. He had two crow familiars in the area and sent them to watch the two males while he watched the female himself. Surely, hair that pink could only belong to a woman.
Next to him, Aeden cursed while Sakura went about the casualties and healed those that were still alive. Under her mystical palm technique, even the ones near death stabilized.
"You must stop that one," Aeden hissed. "She's ruining it." He started towards Sakura, but Itachi moved to block the way.
Naruto flashed to his side. "What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.
"I do not answer to masked men," Aeden growled.
Naruto directed his attention towards Itachi, though the cloak and shadows made him impossible to recognize. His blue eyes narrowed. "You seem familiar," he said.
"Leave my servant alone," Aeden said.
Itachi turned towards the necromancer. "Servant?"
Aeden held up the onyx key. "You see this? This means The Reaper belongs to me!" He started to laugh hysterically, but the laughter soon turned into a coughing fit, bloody spittle formed on his chin.
"Is that right?" Naruto flashed forward and stole the key from Aeden's grasp. He reappeared at Sakura's side and handed it to her. Itachi saw her place it in her pocket before Naruto reappeared in front of the necromancer before the old man realized what happened. "It is wrong to imprison a great power to force it to do your bidding."
"What happened?" Aeden panicked. "My key!"
Sakura finished stabilizing her injured patient and then hurried to Naruto's side. She stared at the necromancer with wide eyes. "How are you alive?" she whispered.
"By stealing life of those around him," Itachi answered. He stood resolutely as a barrier between her and Aeden. He couldn't risk the necromancer regaining the key, or else he wouldn't be able to do what he now realized he needed to do.
Aeden looked up squinting into Itachi's eyes. "You must destroy them, Reaper! They will only be in our way! She must be stopped! She's ruining everything!"
"I have heard your story, Aeden. I understand your concern. I will take this burden of yours and destroy the death goddess. You must find your peace," Itachi said. He laid his palm over Aeden's face and the man fell dead, his body crumpled to the ground.
The magic that had been animating him dissipated and he dissolved into bone and dust, the weight of the centuries accumulating at once.
Sai joined them and toed the remains with his boot.
Itachi turned to face Sakura again. "You hold my key, Sakura Haruno. What will you have me do?"
Sakura blinked her jade eyes at him, the only visible indicator of her expression from behind the mask. "You know my name."
"I do," Itachi said. Fate must have smiled down upon him to allow him to cross paths with loyal shinobi of Konoha, his brother's truest friends at that.
"Can't I give it back to you?" Sakura asked.
Itachi shook his head. "I cannot hold my own key."
"Like a freed genie," Sai said. "Too much power without a master?"
Naruto groaned. "Were you watching Aladdin again?"
"Something like that," Itachi agreed before Sai could answer.
Sakura glanced at Naruto and he shrugged. "He seems like a good ally to have in this place," he said.
Sakura turned back to Itachi in his cloaked guise. "How about I keep it safe, until you can find an appropriate candidate for ownership?"
Itachi bowed his head. "That is acceptable."
"Any idea what happened here?" Sakura asked.
Itachi looked around the razed village. "Needless destruction and death. It is a civil war after all."
"War is stupid," Naruto complained.
"Yes it is," Itachi agreed.
"You seem really familiar," Sakura said, turning to him with suspicion in her eyes.
"I assure you, you do not know me," Itachi said.
"Your voice — you remind me of someone," she insisted.
"We still have a few hours of daylight. Shall we continue?" Sai asked.
"There are no more lives for you to save here, healer," Itachi said.
She turned towards him again. "How do you know that? I haven't checked yet."
He held out his hands. "My gifts include the ability to sense death and to distinguish life. Of the latter, there is none aside from the three of you and the four you already saved. I took the liberty of putting them to sleep while we had our little moment here."
"You're not alive?" Sakura asked.
Itachi shook his head. "Not anymore."
"We still need to track down our target," Sakura said.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Itachi said. He held up his hands and two crows came and landed upon his shoulders. "With my crows I can track virtually anyone."
"Can you track down Sasuke Uchiha?" Naruto asked immediately.
Sakura elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Our mission comes first, no matter how much we might want to find him," she whispered. "We're tracking down the rightful Tsuchikage. She's gone into hiding due to the excessive rebel forces."
Itachi nodded and sent his crows off to begin the search, they would contact their brothers and sisters to pass on the quest.
"We should keep looking for other villages, such as this one, and try to help the survivors," Sakura ordered. She turned back towards Itachi. "They're only asleep, you say?"
"Your wish is my command," Itachi said, smirking within the privacy of his hood. "And yes, they are only sleeping. They should awaken in the next half hour. It would be a good idea to leave during that time."
She nodded. "Okay."
Sakura wasn't a blonde mage, but she would make an excellent guardian for his key in the interim. And amongst these three, surely he would cross paths with Sasuke. It might be nice to travel with fellow Konoha shinobi that were uncorrupted by Danzo's reign of terror.
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Revised 1/5/16