Apophenia
Lucky7
"You did what to her?" a light blonde woman screeched. "Hisen-sama, you can't be… This isn't true!"
"Not our daughter," the red haired man on her side groaned. His dark eyes squeezed shut in a futile attempt to hold back his tears. Although in this hospital room, none would have blamed him for breaking down.
Hisen looked at the married couple. His short, smooth, hair was greying all on the outside with just the hair on the top of his head still having its original bright brown color. He wore a black Takigakure hitai-ate around his forehead and his hair hanging over the left and right sides of it. He also had small black-colored eyes and a small brown goatee. Hisen was no ordinary shinobi, however. He was the head of the 'village hidden by a waterfall': Takigakure.
"You know why it had to happen." It pained Hisen, but this had been the best option. He honestly could not say whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that his own son Shibuki had proven to be incompatible. His honor demanded of Hisen to first sacrifice his own, before sacrificing the children of others; but it had turned out to be unavoidable.
"But… three years ago," the balding father sputtered. "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Like all children born to loyal families of Takigakure, your daughter was tested to see if she would be compatible," Hisen sighed. "I am sorry, but with her predecessor failing to contain the monster, we had no other option. We had to act quickly. Aoi, you left your brother to watch over her while you two went to Hi no Kuni, he was her legal representative at the moment."
"And he agreed," the mother, the aforementioned Aoi, wailed. "That stupid drunk agreed... Our daughter! My baby!"
"She survived," Hisen frowned. "She may have been in a coma for the past few days, but it takes time for someone to adjust to such a-"
"You want to tell us that this… this thing," Aoi pointed furiously at the sleeping girl, "was my daughter?"
Indeed, the daughter of the Harada family had undergone some changes. Her light blonde hair had changed to mint green, and it could be seen when her eyes fluttered as she slept in the hospital bed that her blue eyes seemed to have changed to a bright orange color. But Hisen knew this was not the change that bothered the parents most. "This is still Harada Fu, even though she received the heavy duty of becoming Takigakure's jinchuriki," he grunted.
"That thing is not our daughter," Aoi repeated harshly. "Our daughter… Our daughter died the moment you put that demon in her. You can see how that thing took over her body. Her soul has passed on, and that demon only controls her body! That is not a Harada. That is not my little Fu!"
"Surely, you don't intend to cast her out-"
"The moment you made her a jinchuriki, that child seized to be a Harada," the balding man agreed with his wife. "We will mourn our loss, Hisen-sama. But I am afraid this sacrifice… it is too much. Too cruel."
"I ask you to reconsider," Hisen urged. "When she wakes up, you will see that Fu is still-"
"We will see nothing," Aoi cut him off. "We shall return to Ta no Kuni, and continue building up the trade line for the sake of Takigakure. I cannot… I will not… remain in a village that murdered our daughter."
The pair stomped away before the shocked Hisen could say another thing. Yes, he had expected that the parents of this little girl would be distraught by the chain of events. But the jinchuriki had suddenly lost control. The bijuu, the Nanabi, had nearly broken free. The young man who was the previous jinchuriki had always seemed troubled. He had been sickly, as if the chakra was poisoning his body. But the sudden deterioration of the seal had caught Hisen completely by surprise.
In a matter of hours after the young man had collapsed, the council of Takigakure had made its decision. A replacement had to be found, immediately, and the bijuu had to be transferred before the unconscious man died and they lost control over the Nanabi. While everyone hated and neglected the jinchuriki, and a large part of the population would even rather see a jinchuriki dead than alive, the council was also well aware of the value a jinchuriki could have. As a weapon of last resort, a jinchuriki could be a powerful weapon, capable of wiping out entire armies if spurred to lose control at the right moment. And in the unlikely chance that a jinchuriki gained some measure of control over the demon's chakra, it would create an extremely powerful shinobi as well.
'Short-sighted fools,' Hisen scowled. 'Whatever was sealed within the girl, she is still the same person. I cannot let her retain her family name, if her parents are against it, but she will remain Fu. Fu of Takigakure. She'll be one of my finest soldiers if she grows up and is able to endure the monster's chakra.'
A cold and logical part of his mind told Hisen that the decision of Aoi and her husband wasn't even that bad. With no one else in his way, Hisen could ensure that Fu would feel absolute loyalty towards him. 'Well, I can't take her in, either. I can't put her too close to Shibuki. He is only twelve, and would not understand. But I will be the one who provides her with money, and makes sure she remains well-fed and clothed. Yes, that should be enough. Though, I think it works better if she first knows some despair. She'd see me as her savior once I approach her.'
This morning had been weird. Extremely weird. Since the moment Fu had woken up, people had treated her oddly. The nurses had barely said a word, glaring at her, just like her mother had done when she had fallen into the mud that one day: as if she was filthy and smelly. No, today was worse than how Aoi had looked that day.
When the doctor had come to her, he had talked to her with an expression which she couldn't describe as anything but outright disgust. But why? What did she do? Why was she even in the hospital in the first place? Fu didn't know. It saddened her. The last thing she remembered was that an important-looking, mostly gray-haired man had talked to her. It was about a duty only she could do. Fu wasn't sure if the man had told the truth, though. The way people looked at her now… was this because of her so-called honorable duty? She definitely remembered the gray-haired man saying that it was honorable.
She had left the gigantic-seeming hospital building. Now the five-year old girl hurried through the village, frightened and unsure. Truthfully, Takigakure was not particularly big, and neither were the buildings, which made the hospital seem all the more terrifying to her. The only thing that was truly huge was the giant tree in the center of the village. In addition, considering how the village wasn't that big, people tended to know each other reasonably well, and Fu had never had any issues. Her parents were well-respected traders, not particularly influential as they were not shinobi, but they were not part of the 'common rabble' either. Her father had owned nothing, not even a name, and had no remarkable past. But her mother was related to one of the founders of Taki, one who was killed by a thief who stole one of Taki's greatest secrets. So they had carried some respect, the respect befitting the Harada name, and yet, for some reason, all the people that Fu now encountered looked at her like she was filthy. What was wrong? What had she done? Had she failed in the unspecified duty that was given to her? She ran past a shop, and a glance from the corner of her eyes made her stop.
"What is… i-is that me?" she exclaimed, looking into the mirror. Orange eyes were staring at her, and her hair… it was mint green! The little girl barely recognized herself. She still had the same shape, and the dark-ish tone of her skin was also still the same, but her eyes and hair… Only the fact that her mirror image made the exact same moves as she did had convinced the girl that her reflection was truly her. But she had been standing still for too long; the shopkeeper had already come out, angrily glaring at her. Terrified, especially because she did not understand, Fu ran.
Horrified, Fu realized something her mother once told her. They had seen a skinny-looking boy, several years older than Fu herself, who had the same kind of mint-green hair. Fu had asked her mother why the boy looked so lonely, so sad. The only thing Aoi that had been willing to tell her daughter was that Fu was to stay away from the boy, because that 'thing' had been merely a human-shaped demon. 'Am I a demon too? Is this… is this some kind of sickness? I don't feel hot at all. Nor am I sweaty, like when I'm ill.'
She ran and ran, as fast as her little legs could carry her, until she reached familiar territory- home. "Oji-san! Oji-san!" she yelled, as her little fists bonked on the front door. She could hear voices. Male voices, and at least one female too. Had her parents come home? Fu knew they had been on that short trip for their trading business, leaving her uncle, who loved sake just a little too much to be a productive member of society, as her guardian. To little Fu it wasn't even that odd that he hadn't been there for her when she had left (been thrown out of) the hospital. He usually gave her some badly-cooked meals or took her to cheap restaurants, and kept her fed. Otherwise, he barely looked after her.
That is, unless she made too much noise in the morning. Fu was really scared of her uncle at those times. If she woke him up, he would shout at her, sometimes even throw bottles at her or try to hit her. Strangely, his movements were always very erratic when that occurred. Her mother always said that it was because of that dirty-tasting sake stuff. Fu hated sake.
"Ojisan!" she repeated over and over again. The voices had silenced, and eventually she heard someone walking towards the door. The little girl didn't even notice that her senses seemed more accurate than usual. No, she was too distraught to notice the changes.
"What's that fuckin' ruckus," a man threw open the door, nearly knocking Fu out. He was tall, taller than her parents, and the same kind of long and light blond hair as his elder sister Aoi. Only, this man was untended. Shabby, to say the least. He didn't spend what little money he earned on his looks; no, he spent it on sake, and more sake. Also, the money he didn't earn would go to the same beverage.
"Oji-san! It's me. Fu! Something weird happened, and I-"
"Fuck off, yer not my niece, ya filthy demon," the man said with a disgust which left the little girl speechless.
"Bu… but…"
"Scram! I don' want to see yer kind here."
Tears welled up in her now orange-colored eyes. "Oji-san… why?" she begged. "Why?"
"Get lost, before I beat the crap out of ya. And don't show yerself here ever again, ya hear?" he shouted at the girl. Her uncle closed the door so much force that Fu though it would be broken.
'What just happened? Why did he… Why did my uncle say those things?' Fu could hear someone crying indoor. A woman. Her mother? It sounded like her mother. But if her mother had been home, why had her uncle opened the door? Why had he treated her like that? Little did she know, that her uncle had made quite a good deal by turning her over to Hisen. He'd be able to get drunk for many nights, while she would be all alone and abandoned.
While it was not a busy street, the scene had drawn some attention. Neighbors, people passing through, kids playing on the nearby field… all stood there, glaring at the girl. Now that the door was shut, Fu felt scared. Why? Why did they give her such a cold look? Even the friendly old woman next door who had given Fu freshly baked cookies the day before she had been summoned for that strange duty. She had smiled at Fu, laughed with the little girl! Why was she staring like that now?
'Why?'
Fu couldn't see who started it. But among the little crowd, someone had started it: picking up a pebble, throwing it at her. The girl cried out when the pebble hit her on the shoulder. "Why?!" she sobbed.
"Get out of here!"
"Murderer!"
"Demon!"
"Kill her!"
"Kill the demon!"
"That thing murdered my cousin!"
"Death to the demons!"
She ran. Sticks and stones… they hurt. They hurt so much. But the words of the people she thought she had known, those words had hurt her far more. Why did they do this? She kept running. It must be a misunderstanding. She had to get back to the hospital. She had to get her hair back to normal. She didn't want these orange eyes. She wanted to go home!
"Why," he heartbroken cry resounded, as she kept running. No matter how badly she hurt, she had to keep moving. She had to go the hospital, where they would help her. They would return her to normal, right?
Shivering, curled up in a small hole of an old wall, the mint-haired girl lay. Shivering because it was cold and dark, somewhere deep in the night, but also shivering because of the fear and frustration she felt. The hospital… she had barely entered the building before one of the nurses had walked up to her, grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her out. The woman had stated that people like Fu didn't belong there. And no matter how the girl had begged and cried, the woman had not allowed her to go in.
"There is nothing that can help you now," the woman had told her. "You're on your own. Scram."
Why did everyone suddenly hate her? Why was she chased away? Why would people call her names, or even attack her? Little Fu did not know what to think anymore. She just cried. She wanted her mommy, her daddy. She wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. She cried bitter tears, until she felt like she had no more tears to shed. Trembling, the girl wanted to scream out, but her voice was gone. After all the crying, her throat hurt so much that, even though she opened her mouth, she could not make a sound anymore. She was too tired to even try it- too tired to keep crying.
So, she fell asleep. Miserable as she felt, sleep might be a refuge. But it wasn't; it was a sleep filled with nightmares. It was a sleep darkened by the terrors of this day, her first day as a jinchuriki. Now she was Fu the monster, Fu the demon, Fu the murderer. All the things people had called her… they all haunted her in her dreams. Until suddenly everything changed.
Chomei, the humongous, blue-armored kabutomushi (rhinoceros beetle), looked down in surprise. Within this damp space of room which mostly resembled a giant cave, a little girl lay on the ground. The human was still in her larval stage, if he saw it right. Human physiology was so confusing at times, as they always looked the same. Only parts, like breasts or genitals, really changed over time. But otherwise, humans all looked the same to the giant seven-tailed creature.
In the middle of the cave-ish area was one giant pillar. It was so big that even Chomei could not see the top of it. And he knew there would likely not be an end. Not that it mattered. Chomei had seven 'tails', of which six resembled insect wings, while the seventh was an actual tail. They all sprouted from the same place, at the end of his abdomen, and that was where the chains were connected. Chomei couldn't fly… humans were so cruel. It made him angry. Very angry.
Yet, somehow, he still pitied the little larva which had been rolled up in a ball, shivering and crying, seemingly unaware of where she had ended up. While humans were always tiny compared to the mighty bijuu, this specimen seemed exceedingly small. Yet, the larva had the same kind of mint-green hair his hosts usually had, the same color as the stems of his six wing-like tails. The wings themselves were orange, a color which usually repeated itself in the color of his jinchurikis' eyes.
Underneath the helmet-like skull, Chomei narrowed his eyes. They glowed with an orange light, and were rather sensitive. In fact, that was why Chomei liked his 'helmet'. Apart from his uncanny smell for pheromones, his other senses were a bit unremarkable. Well, his night-vision was good. Like most beetles, Chomei had two big shiny eyes, which were actually 'compound eyes', meaning that they were made out of many smaller parts.
Then again, Chomei was not known for his sight. Sure, like other beetles, he could see ultraviolet light, making his sense of sight completely different from the humans he had been sealed within, but most of the time Chomei just relied on his sense of smell. It was not that Chomei had a nose, no, he used his antennae to smell things. The entire concept of a 'nose' had always seemed weird to him. As exemplified by the sniveling child below, it just seemed so inefficient to rely on your sense of smell with such a slimy appendage.
"Hrmpf. Larva, why are you here? Larvae like you aren't supposed to get in here on your own."
To his annoyance, the child seemed to ignore him. So he bent forward, as much as those accursed chains would allow him, and extended one of his six legs. However, as his entire body was covered in a blue armor-like exoskeleton, Chomei knew he had to be careful, extremely careful. Those fleshy humans were always so fragile that even a little poke often resulted in injuries.
Predictably, the little girl screamed when Chomei gave her the softest and gentlest nudge he could muster. It was typical, for a human. The previous boy had reacted the same way, the first time Chomei had seen him. Crying out in fear, and trying to run away, the boy had made a rather bad first impression. Chomei considered it rather rude. He was a king among beetles, and his wings were a wonder of nature. Why were humans always so scared of him? Of course, that first response of the boy had been the least of his worries. The boy had blamed Chomei for the way he was treated by the other humans. It was a rather poor bond, so Chomei had tried to break free. Breaking the chains had become rather easy, as they had become rather brittle after some time had passed.
But then all had gone dark, and now this little girl was here, his new host. Her orange eyes stared at him with fear and confusion, making Chomei sigh wearily. It seemed like things would repeat themselves yet again. 'And the larva will run in three… two… one… go!' he mused. 'Eh? She still hasn't moved? Curious.'
"I asked you a question, you know," Chomei tried. Perhaps this human would not be as bad as they usually were? It sparked a bit of curiosity in the giant insect-like 'demon'. He was not one to hold grudges, much unlike Kurama, nor wild like Gyuki, nor insane like Shukaku, nor stubborn like Son Goku. In fact, now that Chomei thought about it, he was pretty much the only one who was even a bit tolerant of humans. "Yo!"
The exclamation seemed to wake the girl from her stupor. "H-h-hello," she stood up and bowed hastily. "Wha… Who are you? Where am I?"
'What? Manners? From a human? In front of me?' Chomei began to laugh. "What a strange little larva you are!"
"Larva?" the tiny girl didn't understand that he meant her, and she looked around. Probably afraid of the idea that were would be grubs swarming around him, Chomei amused himself with the thought of scaring her by making it reality. Then again, she reacted differently from the previous hosts.
"Yes, you. You're a human larva, right? A child-like human, before you're a pupa and change into an adult," Chomei snickered when he saw the girl's reaction. Apparently the idea of being a larva wasn't very appealing to her. And changing into a pupa even less.
"F-Fu. Fu!" the girl sputtered. "I'm not a larva!"
"Well then, Fufu, what are you doing here?" Chomei tilted his head a little, making the horned protrusion on top of his head tap against the protrusions on his shoulders.
"N-not Fufu," the girl protested. Had she forgotten where she was? Who she was talking to? Apparently him having said her name wrong made her forget about that sort of thing. "I'm Fu!"
"Fu, Fufu, what's the difference. Fufu sounds cuter."
"What? Ehm… but I'm Fu. Seriously. You know, my name is like the word 'seal'," she said with some pride.
"Yeah… that is kinda problematic," Chomei said dryly. "I tend to dislike seals. So why don't I just call you 'Fufu'."
"I'm not Fufu," Fu huffed. "Fu also means 'wind'."
"Hmm. That sounds more appealing. Though by wind, you don't mean a fart, right?"
"F-fart? What?!"
"I hate farts. They smell bad," the bijuu grumbled. "I am very sensitive, so don't you ever fart in front of me."
The girl looked at him as if he was a complete idiot. Which he sorta was, even Chomei had to admit. He never really gave things as much thought as others of his kin. Isobu could spend entire days filled with nothing but thinking and pondering. Chomei found that rather boring. He loved to just aimlessly frolic around. Sadly, that was also why he had been caught so easily by these little fleshy humans.
"A lady never farts," Fu huffed. "But if you don't like 'seal' or 'wind', my name also means 'style'. That's not something you can make fun of, can you?" she dared the giant in front of her with a childish bravado that made Chomei laugh out so loudly that the floor shook. The girl toppled over, splashing in the stale waters that covered the floor of the cave.
"You're certainly a funny larva, Fu," Chomei chuckled. "I'm Chomei." No other human had been like this one, so why not share his true name?
"Ah… yes. Hi, Chomei," Fu stood up, patted her now wet bottom as if she wanted to clean the muddy white dress she was wearing, and bowed like how her mother had taught her to politely greet strangers. "Um... If you don't mind… w-what are you?" she added shyly, knowing that her question would most likely be rude.
"I'm what you humans call a bijuu. I was sealed inside you a few days ago, remember?"
"Eh? A few days… is this what that gray-haired man meant by 'duty'?"
"Most likely," Chomei grunted. "Humans tend to dislike me for some reason, even though your kind is eager to abuse my chakra."
"Why?"
"I think you have to go through your pupa stage before you're able to understand that. To be honest, I'm surprised you don't hate me already."
"Hate you? Why? You are strange, but I don't hate you," Fu flapped out. Her mother always scolded her for that, telling her that she needed to know restraint, to not jump to conclusions all of the time. Fortunately, those were not things Chomei appreciated either. He preferred honesty. And it wasn't like she could lie to him, he'd smell her pheromones even before she uttered a single word of deceit!
"I smell. But I warn you… other humans will probably treat you badly because I'm sealed within you," Chomei admitted. If this girl was as friendly as she seemed, he considered that warning her was the least he could do. And who knew, perhaps she wouldn't blame him, unlike all the others had inevitably done!
"So that is why," the girl slumped down. "But why," she began to cry again. "Why did they treat me like that? Why didn't Oji-san want to see me again? Why didn't Okaa-san show up at the door?"
Breaking down in tears. Now that was a new one to Chomei. None of the jinchuriki had ever fessed up their feelings like that to him. Then again, they were usually not this tiny as a larva, so perhaps it was due to her age? The happy-go-lucky bijuu was rather clueless with regard to how he had to act. Part of him wanted to cheer the girl up, but the other warned him that he shouldn't get to close. She was just a little larva now, but once she grew up she'd probably hate him like all the others. Right?
But Chomei was Chomei, so the consequences could be damned. Chomei lived in the present, not the past or the future!
"Don't worry too much, little one," he said kindly. "Sleep. Sleep, and I'll help you tomorrow. Together, we won't need anyone else. I'll make you strong enough so that no one can hurt you again," he opened his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and exhaled a sparkling substance. Even in the midst of her despair, little five-year old Fu stared at the brightly shining sparkles, and then she fell asleep.
Chomei sent a little of his chakra to her, making sure she would remain warm throughout the night, and then sent her out of this inner world. Apart from lulling her to sleep with his dust, Chomei could do little more right now. The girl was young, very young. Much younger than the previous jinchuriki who had entered this realm. It puzzled him that a child her age could do it. She must've been really desperate that she could sink away in her own mind like this.
Regardless, Chomei felt a little happiness, because this little girl was more promising than any of her predecessors. As long as the humans kept sealing him, Chomei wouldn't be free, he knew that. So being sealed within someone that he liked was the second-best thing. He just hoped that she would still like him once she found out how everyone would abandon her.
Usually, his jinchuriki was cast away by their families and friends, and treated like a monster. They were weapons, made for the sake of the village. It saddened Chomei, now that he thought about it, that this weird little Fufu would be treated like that, that people would look at her and see him.
Disgusting humans…
The same thought crossed the mind of one of Chomei's brothers, that very same night. Held in a choking grip, chibi-Kurama could not move an inch. The sleeping little blond brat that was his jinchuriki held him close. Being dragged along when the boy went to bed had been humiliating enough for the mighty Kyuubi, but being strangled by a child barely more than a toddler was even worse.
Disgusting humans…
Author's notes:
Poor little Fu…
I wrote this chapter while thinking how it would be for her when the world around her suddenly changed, as a result of becoming a jinchuriki. After all, in the manga it was stated that Takigakure hated Fu, and abruptly abandoned her and let her be killed, rather than defend her against Akatsuki. So this chapter could not be too happy. But Chomei was the silver lining, to me at least.
Next chapter will focus on Naruto again. But considering how Fu will return to the plot later on, I felt like this chapter had priority now.
Make me and my beta Illuminated happy, and leave a review!
-Z-
