Chronological Timing: Between Valley of the End and the ending of Part I.
Main Character: Kitai (spirit of a tree).
The brambled path cut in densely against the stark and bright trees. A heavenly light descended from the moon, casting the path ahead in an incongruous peace that did not match the surroundings. Grasping the sword tightly, Mizuki stared up into the trees with a look of dread. He cast a glance behind him, his heart pounding in his chest. "I'm still not strong enough," he muttered. "And they're still coming. If only I had more time—"
The moonlight shone down on the trees. In the distance one of the trees tumbled over the path, blocking passage with deep roots and well-made chaos.
Mizuki's eyes widened. He stared up at the tumbled tree, his expression shocked. Tsunade? No, she would never favor my escape. How could something like that happen?
"Up here!" a cheery voice remarked. A smile crossed the face of the woman as she waved down at Mizuki. A white cloak embroidered with stylized blue hurricane waves flapped in the wind.
"Who're you?" Mizuki frowned. He blinked in shock. "Wait a moment. You're of the Nara family, aren't you? Yes, I'm certain of it!" His hand tightened on the sword. "When did you arrive?"
"Heh. You're asking a lot of questions for someone who's going to die without my help, aren't you?" the woman asked, her expression getting testy.
Mizuki frowned. "I take your point. But at the least I'm going to need to know who you work for before I sign up willy-nilly. Certainly you must understand that much."
"Fair point." The woman tapped her chin. "I'm with Hakubo[i]. As you guessed, I used to be with the Leaf, but it seems that the time for that passed a while ago."
"Never heard of them." Mizuki did not attempt to disguise his distaste; his voice reeked of anger and supercilious pride.
"Most people haven't. Don't worry. By the time we're finished, everyone's going to know our name." The Nara woman grinned. "You in, or should I redirect our pursuers to where you've currently hidden yourself?"
"As I guess you understood when you proposed this idea to me, I have very little choice in the matter." Mizuki sighed heavily. "I need a little time to recuperate. For that reason, I'm in your care."
The Nara woman grinned. "Great. I appreciate your understanding, old man." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Let's hurry away, then. You need that arm stitched up, don't you?"
The pair hurried away into the darkness, between the trees of the forest.
Kitai
Deep, overwhelming black covered the ground. A series of broken pieces lay on the ground.
Nōtō studied the tumbled tree. His eyebrows furrowed. "Tsunade-san, why are we stopping here? The longer we permit that man to run, the more strength he will gain. Rather than that, we should prevent him from advancing here."
"I know." Tsunade cleared her throat. Her expression grew stern and serious. "I'd honestly prefer to follow the path you suggest. Overall, I agree with you." Her eyes studied the tree briefly. "But this isn't something within Mizuki's power. Rather than being simply cut down, this tree's trunk has been compressed to a point where it snapped of its own accord. Who could have done this? In this world, almost no one has that power—to break a tree is easy. To do it in that way, on the other hand, is very dangerous."
Nōtō frowned.
"The action suggests a certain possibility. Namely, the possibility of the techniques of a certain famous warrior returning from the dead." Tsunade exhaled. "That assassin from Nara. If it is here she returns, then we'll need to be considerably more prepared before we can approach that disciple. On top of that, we've lost a number of our forces already. Targeting Mizuki so brashly isn't the path we should take here." She glanced toward Nōtō.
Nōtō's expression changed. His eyebrows drew together; his jaw tightened. His glasses shone white. "I fear that I cannot honor that request."
"It is an order. Or has Nōtō, heretical priest of the Temple of Fire, forgotten the duties of that sect to the governance of the Hokage?" Tsunade questioned sternly. Her fist clenched as she met Nōtō's eyes.
"I'll return. But in place of that, please permit me one night to search for Mizuki on my own."
"Do you not wish those shinobi to learn from you?" Tsunade asked.
Nōtō sighed. "To win against that guy, I'll need to use older methods. I don't want anyone to learn from such a monster as my own heretical path," he remarked with a dispassionate, light-tempered tone. "So bearing that in mind." He turned away from the path. A faint mist of shadows rose from his shoulders.
Briefly appearing nervous, Tsunade turned away. She walked toward the village again.
Kitai
The sparks of the furnace ignited. Flames rose across the surface of the metal. The sun set in the distance, a beautiful array of crimson and red shining across the sky. The clouds streaked with colors.
"I want a much bigger sword," Kōju stated. Her bottom lip trembled as she stared at the metal. "Something this big!" She spread apart her arms to indicate the desired length of the sword.
Kakashi's visible eye turned into a crescent. "Impossible, impossible. You'd just end up cutting off your own thumb."
Kōju glanced upward toward the smith, her eyebrows furrowing. "Surely you could make something like that?"
Asuma shrugged. "Hard to tell. Really, anything bigger than a katana is problematic. You need a very strong core, and it's hard to form that much metal accurately into anything."
Kōju's eyes dampened. She glanced toward her teammates for support.
"He's right, you know. Wielding a sword out of proportion with your own body is a pretty dumbass thing to do. Or a fucking chuuni." Tayuya leaned closer, her eyebrows furrowing. "Well, sure, you're about at that age, but I thought you had more sense than that dumbass Naruto."
Naruto growled. "What'd you say?" he demanded in a harsh voice.
"I'll say it again if you want me to. Dumbass! Ero-nin!" Tayuya barked, her voice as unhesitant as a bull dog.
Growling, Naruto and Tayuya pressed their heads together, their eyes blazing.
"Why won't someone listen to me?" Kōju whined loudly, her expression desperate. "I want a sword at least twice as big as I am!"
"That ain't gonna happen unless you learn weapon-smithy yourself, little lady." Asuma winked at Kakashi. He set the hammer to the metal again. Sparks flew from the blade.
Kakashi groaned. He placed one hand on his forehead. "Now she'll try it. Asuma-san, please have more discretion in the future."
Kōju stared with renewed intent at the fire.
Sasuke stood to one side. Her hand flexed and unflexed. She stared at the open palm. A single black bolt of lightning twisted across the surface. Just now, these hands cast something that put Kakashi's Chidori to shame. What was it? How can I gain that power again? She clenched her hand into a fist. How can I beat Itachi?
Tayuya wrangled Naruto into a headlock, a faint grin crossing her face. She pressed the knuckles into Naruto's forehead.
Sasuke glanced back at the group. A faint moment of downcast eyes followed the glance. She began to walk away.
Naruto's eyebrows creased. He held one hand to his mouth. "Hey, wait. Sasuke-san, where are you going?"
"I'm going to go train. Alone," Sasuke replied flatly. She turned away from the group, walking into the darkness beyond the forge's flames' light.
Slowly, the group fell silent, their amusement fading as the lack of another weakened it.
Kakashi smiled faintly. He rubbed the back of his head. "What on earth are you all doing?" he asked in a lighter tone.
Tayuya blinked. "Eh?"
"Take it from someone who's got experience." Kakashi pointed out toward the darkness. "Your place should be at each others' side."
Naruto ran after Sasuke, a grin filling his face.
"Idiot!" Sasuke growled, her expression enraged. "I don't want to train with you!"
"Well, you're gonna!" Playfully, Naruto shoved Sasuke's shoulder.
The pair descended into fighting on the ground, punches thrown left and right. Kōju leapt in a little too late, and yelped as she fell against the ground.
"Enjoy the bright times while they last," Kakashi continued. His smile faded as he glanced toward Asuma, the distant rays of red light striking his eye patch. "Because they can't last forever." He sighed heavily.
Asuma nodded, his face uncharacteristically grim as he worked the metal. "Obito, was it?"
Kakashi nodded briefly. He turned his gaze back to the setting sun. "But for now, those dreams can remain." He smiled, his face growing serious. "For now, dreams don't have consequences." He rested his arm against the wall. His hand briefly brushed over the eye patch.
The pair remained in silence, watching the day turn toward dusk.
[i] Daybreak. Kanji taken are Haku; here referencing white or pure, and bo; here referencing plan or sacred tree.
A/N: Well, here we are at the end of the arc! I've been taking a few breaks, and hopefully this arc has gotten me back in the habit of writing frequently.
Ki herself will become more directly involved in later events, but again, much of it will take place in side arcs. In particular I wanted to provide more characterization for that purpose.
Meanwhile, we'll have closure on Mizuki very soon.
Thank everyone for reading. See you in the next arc!