Pareidolia

Chapter ten

Threats of the past

"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."

― Neil Gaiman

'He has zero talent at ninjutsu, but such an insane level of talent at taijutsu. That kid could be a pupil of Gai. Good thing he doesn't have the same horrible haircut, though,' Jiraiya thought as he oversaw the spar between Genkuro and the older monk Arata. With some creative usage of the earth element, he and the two girls had been able to take a seat, while sheltering from the rain at the same time.

"Raigo: Shihai," Arata bellowed. His deep voice droned through the damp air. A massive fist appeared, formed out of the unique chakra that the monks of the Fire Temple could use. The fist knocked Genkuro down to the ground. With his arms crossed in front of him, blocking the attack, Genkuro actually panted from the effort it took to stop the blow.

'One fist, and it wore him down that much?' Jiraiya watched, one brow rising. 'The girls said that he would change when that fourth symbol appeared, but other than creating those explosions with his eyes, I haven't seen him change that much. His inability to gather chakra is more worrisome, though.. Well, that and his mental instability. I wonder what would happen if I told him about Naruto, and my suspicions… From what I've seen up until now, he could just as well literally explode in anger.'

That first fist was only the prelude though; dozens followed immediately after the first dissipated. None were as strong as the first, as the chakra was not as solid as the first hit- but that was the intention. The first hit was only used to push Genkuro into defense, while the barrage that followed was meant to wear those defenses down and ultimately beat the snot out of the target.

'Seems like Genkuro can hold his defense longer than Arata can manage to sustain that attack,' Jiraiya noticed. Still, he was impressed. The Senzoku no Sai, and the Seiken style that used this typical kind of chakra, certainly was much stronger than the old sennin had anticipated. The usually non-violent monks kept themselves out of battles as long as they could, which resulted in Jiraiya only having sporadically heard of their prowess. But what Arata now showed, as one of the best within the temple after Chiriku, made Jiraiya re-evaluate his previous encounters with these monks.

'The entire Seiken style is rather chakra-consuming though. Especially when they abandon the basic forms and use that 'welcoming approach' thing. Still, as taxing as that welcoming approach might be, its power is certainly devastating. Who would have known these crazy monks were capable of creating such chakra constructs. The 'Gift of the Hermit'… Dammit, these things are perhaps all what is left of the teachings of the Sage of the Six Paths himself! And these monks created an entire religious layer around it. Then again, using it in combat is probably the easiest way to master this kind of stuff,' Jiraiya watched as Genkuro rose to his feet, and began pressuring Arata again.

'Faith. Praying to a deity until they have every little detail of that deity's statue in their heads. Praying, until their faith has reached such a level that they believe they truly summon that deity,' Jiraiya smiled gently when he saw Tayuya jump up and cheer when Genkuro landed a hit. 'I don't think Chiriku actually believes that though, the whole 'summon a god' thing. Perhaps that is why he is stronger than the rest of them. He knows, rather than just believing, while still having enough faith within himself to manifest that thousand armed kannon of his… He is the one who manifests it, using his chakra. It is his mind that gives it shape, his chakra that gives it substance. It is not the same as summoning a god. Or is it?'

Jiraiya began to doubt. He wondered if there actually were gods, or not. Nothing he ever witnessed had led to him becoming a 'believer.' The toads had shown him how the world worked, how natural chakra flowed through everything. It could be seen as the progenitor of life, the very fundament of the cycle of rebirth. All the physical energies came from it, and eventually returned to that same source again. But the spiritual energies, that was a completely different matter. Not even the toads had a clear-cut answer to that.

Much to Jiraiya's frustration, they had even refused to confirm whether or not people had a soul. 'Improve your mastery over natural chakra', they told him, after he asked them if they knew where people went after their deaths. Sure, there was the Shinigami, according to what little both Minato and Hiruzen had told him about the Shiki Fujin, but was that proof of the existence of gods? And that didn't even touch the issue of which temple, sect, or religion was actually right. Or if they were all right…

'What does it even matter,' Jiraiya sighed. 'People start fights over who knows the truth or not, but in the end our opinions change nothing. If gods exist, their existence would not be changed by something as trivial and fickle as our opinions. We would meet them when it is our time to meet them. But lunatics like from that cult of Jashin, those murderers, who have the sheer arrogance to proclaim that they speak for their god and murder everyone that they proclaim to be heretics... I don't get it. These monks too, why do they need to show their beliefs by 'summoning' their objects of devotion? Isn't their belief something that is inside their hearts, rather than a weapon they wield?'

He watched as Arata used his raw speed to evade Genkuro's hits. Still, Genkuro got closer and closer. 'This Arata too… if he was as convinced of his beliefs as he said he is, then why would he proudly proclaim that the gods answered his prayers and he is wielding a portion of their power?'

Jiraiya sighed. It made no sense to him. It never had, and he doubted that it never would. Faith was, to him, an act of believing rather than doubting. The desire to show their faith, like these monks, or like so many cultists which Jiraiya had seen through the decades, seemed to have little to do with faith. 'Saying that you're closer to your god seems like the first step to saying that you are better than someone else. One day, one of these monks might get that idea- that their power is proof that they are blessed by the gods and that it gives them the divine right to do whatever they please... Ah well, fanaticism is an inevitable part of religion, I suppose. Small wonder why I could never figure out whether religion helps breaking the cycle of hatred, or actually adds to it. I suppose a true believer doesn't need to rely on violence to enforce their beliefs on others,' Jiraiya scratched his chin. 'Just like Chiriku. He seems to be completely at peace, much more balanced than this Arata-fellow.'

Unlike Jiraiya, Tayuya was too engaged by the fight to have any deep thoughts. Temari, on the other hand, could not stop thinking about whether or not she made a huge mistake in not telling Genkuro about the things they suspected. The problem was that he already seemed to be so frustrated by the things he could not (or could barely) remember, dreams he had, but could not comprehend. Often he just went out in the woods after he woke up in the morning, and Temari had found several spots where trees were viciously smashed to bits.

'But by not telling, even if it is meant to protect him from more distress, am I placing him in a dangerous situation? I mean, if he really is Uzumaki Naruto, he would have some kind of connection with the Kyuubi. And everyone will be hunting for the Kyuubi, considering that it is rumored to be the strongest of all bijuu,' but Temari did not think about her real reasons. She did not want to.

When she had given up hope, when she had embraced death with gratitude, it had been Genkuro who found her. She was ignored, shunned, hated… and then they had sold her off like they would do with the pelt of a desert-fox- using her as an object to strengthen a very shaky alliance. In the absence of the Ichibi, Suna had merely thought of saving their skins. The village could not resist Iwagakure, they were too weak. So, even though it was to a brute, they had happily sold her off.

Moreover, everyone aside from Chiyo and Kankuro had been glad that she would be gone. One nuisance less, the council had told her. After all, she was a sibling to the accursed demon who brought this war upon Sunagakure, or so they said. Naturally, those who shared the responsibility for the entire scheme had shoved the blame on Gaara and their father, and by proxy on Temari and Kankuro as well.

Showing lifelong loyalty to her village, despite the way she was treated, and this was her reward, Temari marveled. If Chiyo had not been there to stop it, she would have even been raped on the very day she was sold. But afterwards, no one cared. When she tried to resist being brought to Iwa for that very reason, the man who dragged her from her room had laughed at her: of course her new husband would try to 'take' her on the first opportunity he could get!

At that point, Temari had been wishing she could die, to perish before her pride would be broken, before she would be turned to a hunk of meat which that horrible man would use to produce children. A womb without a will, without a choice. She would rather die- and she had been so close… The day the Konoha anbu had ambushed her group, she nearly died. Then Genkuro saved her, the one ray of light in her dark life. Not just for shallow reasons like how hot he looked in his older form, no… she felt exactly the same way when he seemed to be a child.

And the fear of losing that light made her tremble.

What if he was angry at her when he found out the truth? Whether she told him or kept it from him, she was the sister of the one who killed him. She was there the day he and his team had perished, and had done nothing to save them. 'He would never forgive me for that.. He would just leave me behind, just like everyone else,' she peeked at the redhead next to her. 'No, Tayuya is loyal to Genkuro. She treats me as a friend, I'm glad she does, but her heart is occupied by him. I can see it in her eyes. It makes it fun to tease her, but… If Genkuro abandons me, so will she. And I would be alone again. Hunted for my blood…'

If Genkuro left her behind, she would kill herself. She wouldn't have a reason to live, so why continue this endless torment which most people clung to so desperately? The world was a beautiful place, but in Temari's opinion there were too many humans in it. They were the devils who turned this lovely realm into a hell.

'I was in an endless downwards spiral, where my life got worse and worse. Genkuro broke that cycle, but if he leaves me… I don't want to sink any deeper. I can't!'

With the use of his Jinsoku stance, Arata managed to evade Genkuro, but the longer the spar lasted, the harder the man started to pant. Genkuro certainly had a lot more reserves than the monk- which was why the monk was very surprised when Genkuro suddenly halted.

The fiery 'eyes' looked at the monk, and Genkuro's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Raigo: Shihai," he said. Wide-eyed, Arata was too shocked to even switch stances into a more defensive one before the wave of energy, roughly shaped like a fist, crashed into him. Arata quickly realized the gravity of that mistake.

What hit him was not a first-shaped mass of chakra, as the jutsu was meant to produce. Genkuro was not capable of generating chakra, after all. No, what he created was something else. And it was not even solidified. No, this fist was one of pure heat. It scorched his skin, making the monk cry out in pain.

Genkuro rapidly decided to cancel the attack, even though he had already prepared to unleash the barrage of fists that would follow the initial attack. Tilting his head, Genkuro tried to understand why Arata reacted so differently. He thought he had replicated the skill perfectly, but Arata's attack did not have an effect like his own. Not at all. 'I know I replicated the shape, but why… Is he really this fragile?' Genkuro knew his physical strength was unusual compared to others, but this was unexpected.

Temari and Tayuya quickly moved in, and when Jiraiya pulled away Arata's robes, he immediately decided to send out Temari to get a healer. Arata's entire chest was covered in burns. Sure, he could send out Tayuya, but she didn't get along that well with most of the monks. Her rude behavior was quite at odds with how the monks thought people should behave.

"What happened to him?" Genkuro wondered.

"Your attack burned him," Jiraiya frowned. 'Does he really not understand what he did?'

"He didn't know,' Tayuya confirmed, seeing that sannin look at her. "Genkuro, don't pull that kind of shit during spars. Experimenting on this kind of craziness is dangerous. You could've killed this baldy!"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt Baldy-sensei."

Jiraiya focused on Arata. Not for the first time, he felt irked by his lacking knowledge of medical ninjutsu. Then again, he never felt Orochimaru's need to know all ninjutsu, and with Tsunade nearby Jiraiya had simply trusted in her ability to such a degree that he never interested himself in it. By the time their team had fallen apart, he was already strong enough that there were only few people capable of hurting him. Sure, he knew first aid, but these burns wouldn't be fixed by just a layer of bandages or medicinal herbs.

"I know you are not stupid, kid. The rate at which you learn is proof enough of showing how smart you actually are. Sure, you're not an academic or anything, but you don't need to be. Theory only has limited value to a shinobi, after all. But still… Your greatest problem is that you lack experience. So don't start to randomly experiment like this again, okay? At least, not when there are living beings nearby…"

"I won't, pervert-super," Genkuro nodded.

"It is super-pervert," Jiraiya sighed. "Seriously, when will the three of you ever learn…"

"What is a pervert?" Genkuro suddenly asked. Arata groaned from the pain his chest caused him, when he tried to laugh at that statement. Stoic monk or not, Jiraiya's expression was simply priceless; Genkuro's total innocence was like the complete opposite of Jiraiya.

"You don't need to learn that kind of shit just yet," Tayuya interfered, glaring at Jiraiya. As if it was his fault, Genkuro started to ask questions. The irony was that the one who taught him the dirtiest words was now glaring at the perverted hermit.

'Who is the one sleeping in his bed, girly?' Jiraiya would have liked to say. But he had encountered Tayuya's flute a few times before. Skilled as he may be, getting ensnared in her illusions had not been a pleasant experience. Ah well, at least it was better than getting hit with the blunt side of Temari's new nodachi.

She might be more used to her giant folding fan, but to facilitate abandoning her old fighting style from Sunagakure and adopting a less-recognizable weapon, Temari had been given this long sword by Chiriku. The curved single-edged blade of over thirty-five inches long did not offer the same level of 'air displacement' as the fan did, but the weapon worked perfectly when used for the more 'slashy-ier' attacks, as Genkuro had dubbed it. Of course, this only meant that Temari pinpointed her futon jutsu to one slash, rather than the large-scale devastating area-of-effect damage which her usual futon attacks had.

Seeing her splitting a group of trees in half had convinced Jiraiya had she was not the type of woman he should tease too much either. Blonde women were seemingly dangerous by default. "Ah well, at least I'm never getting bored with you three around," Jiraiya mumbled.

"Arata-sensei will recover quickly," Honen reported after Temari asked about the incident earlier that day. "But that was not why I was sent here."

"What is it this time, Baldy?" Tayuya yawned. Having just finished their meal, Jiraiya had been allowed to join the trio after a lot of eulogizing of Tayuya's cooking skills. Of course, this had given Temari a giant headache, after she had been tasked with explaining the expression 'ass-kisser' to Genkuro. His rather literal idea of the concept had been something Temari had gladly corrected.

'She should really watch her mouth. Genkuro is definitely not stupid, but his lack of knowledge and his habit of taking words too literally are way too dangerous. What if he literally had kissed her ass?' the blonde grimaced. "Why would Chiriku-sama ask for all four of us?"

"We have a guest," Honen shrugged. "I do not know the details either, but Bansai-sama and Tsutsumi-sama, the two other councillors, were rather agitated. Then again, Chiriku-sama is the one who had to decide about whether to accept her request or not."

"Ohhh, there's a woman involved?" Jiraiya's attention was suddenly piqued. Subtlety was never the man's strong point when women were concerned.

Honen closed his light-grey eyes and sighed. How could a shinobi as famous as Jiraiya be like this? "Yes, Jiraiya-sama, there is a lady who made a request with Chiriku-sama. But as I said, I do not know the details. I am merely acting as the messenger."

Chiriku frowned as he saw the blonde pacing around in his office. The visit of the priestess of Oni no Kuni was certainly unexpected, and her message was grave. But the impatience did not help anyone. Her attendant just stood there, patiently waiting until the people whom Chiriku had called for would arrive.

Then again, the blonde priestess did not really seem as dignified as Chiriku had expected. He had her stories about the priestess of Oni no Kuni, and his expectations had been… well, he had expected her to be older. Wiser.

The girl he saw had pale lavender eyes and light blond hair that fell past her waist. She had tied her hair at the end with a red bow. Not wearing her formal kimono, Shion wore a bra-like white top, with a mustard yellow jacket, which looked a bit big for her, and red pants. Again, it was not what Chiriku was expecting. Still, she confirmed to be who she said she was, and any monk knew better than just only judge people by their appearances.

'Though, it is not just her appearance- it's the way she acts, so haughty and selfish,' Chiriku wondered how such a person could hold such an important position. Then he recalled that her position was hereditary, unlike most of the other temples in their world.

After a short knock, Honen opened the door again. Stopping her impatient pacing, Shion looked at the bald young monk. His light grey eyes were intriguing, but otherwise he just seemed like a common peasant to her. Though, he was sent out by Chiriku earlier, so it was not Honen who was important. It was whoever he had brought with him.

Two young women stood behind him. Both seemed slightly older than she was. One was fairly tall, taller than Shion was, at least, and had a brighter shade of blonde hair. Her hair was tied into a single spiky ponytail. The other girl had red hair, light enough for it to almost pass for dark pink, and was smaller than Shion, if only by a few centimeters. While the blonde was slender, the redhead was more voluptuous. Well, it was not that she was blessed like Shion, when it came to her breasts, but the girl had certainly qualities that would draw the attention of males. Although the blonde's long legs would certainly draw a lot of looks as well. Actually, Shion was a bit jealous of those legs. Those legs were way better developed than the short ones Shion was born with.

Speaking of males, there were two of them following after the girls. In keeping with the girls clad in white kimonos, the right man, the one with the spiky blond hair, had white pants. Shion felt a bit uncomfortable when she noticed that those pants were all he wore. He did not even have shoes or sandals under his feet. It was his chest that embarrassed her though. He was muscular, almost wiry as he had a lean build, to a degree Shion had only seen with the blacksmith's apprentice at the temple last summer. He seemed to be someone who was used to heavy physical labor, although he did not have the air of a commoner at all. There was something very strange about him, something off that Shion could not define.

The other man was far less attractive. He was an old man, with long, wild, white hair. To Shion, he seemed almost like a vagabond. He seemed to be in his early fifties, but moved with a grace that screamed 'Shinobi' to her, even though she wasn't trained as such. Now that she thought about it, the two girls also seemed shinobi, and as such, Shion re-examined the fourth. Was the tall blond also a shinobi? She tried to figure out who he was, and the she saw…

Chiriku chuckled when he saw Shion gasp. "So you have seen Genkuro's eyes." It was no question, and Shion did not take it as such either. It was hard to deny. Although she berated herself for her lack of composure, she could not really blame herself for being surprised. After all, who could have expected the blond young man to have eyes of fire?

"Who are these four?" her voice was dismissive enough to make the redhead scowl.

"Oi, baldy, what is this blonde tramp doing in your office?" was Tayuya's less-than-subtle reply.

Temari sighed as she saw Tayuya piss off another person, as apparently, the haughty blonde did not take kindly to being called 'tramp'. 'Leave it to Tayuya to antagonize people on first sight. And she wonders why she has such a hard time making friends. Hell, she even calls me out for being distant…'

"Just shut it, Tayuya," she stopped the squabble from escalating. "Chiriku-sama, you called for us?"

"Ah, yes, though I was not aware Jiraiya-sama was with you as well."

Taruho looked surprised. "Jiraiya-sama? The Jiraiya-sama? Of the Sannin?"

"The one and only," the white-haired man gave a wide grin, performing one of his exaggerated poses.

"Why does everyone know the pervert?" Genkuro wondered, looking at Temari. The latter was drawn out of her stupor when she saw Jiraiya's childlike enthusiasm vanish like snow under the sun.

"He is a very famous shinobi," Temari laughed. The entire day, Temari had barely smiled, but this situation just made it impossible for her not to laugh. "Even though you wouldn't say it, if you only judged him by his looks."

"You can say that again," Shion agreed. "Are you really sure this vagabond is such a famous shinobi, Taruho?"

"…harsh," Jiraiya whimpered.

"Yes, Shion-sama," the brown-haired man bowed. He had lost his black eboshi, leaving his unkempt hair uncovered. "Chiriku-sama, are these our gua-"

"I have no authority over either of these four," Chiriku's calm voice brought everyone's attention back to where it should be. "I can only request of them to aid you. As this is a matter outside Hi no Kuni, I cannot, formally, send out any of my monks. But if they agree to help you, I will send Honen with them. As their guard, his presence within your nation would not be a violation of any law or treaty. Nor would it agitate Konohagakure."

"I see," Taruho nodded. "Shion-sama, would you explain to them why we are here?"

"All they need to know is that they have to guard me. And remain quiet while doing it," Shion huffed, still incensed by Tayuya's earlier remark.

"Shion-sama…"

Jiraiya laughed, surprising the blonde priestess. "Shion, daughter of Miroku, priestess of Oni no Kuni, right? Didn't you guys have some issues with a demon, several years ago?"

Shion glared at the sannin, but he did not back down one inch. Goofing around was usually Jiraiya's forte, but right now he was all business. "How do you know about my mother?"

"I'm the spymaster, girly, so either you spill the beans, or we are not helping you."

"Who made you the boss?" Tayuya grumbled, even though she agreed with the man.

"Years ago, my mother sealed a demon named Moryo," Shion sighed. "Part of him was sealed in Numa no Kuni, while the other part was sealed within Oni no Kuni. After my mother died… I am the only one who can seal Moryo again."

"Someone broke the seal?" Jiraiya grimaced.

"Yes. There was a clan who cooperated with Moryo, aiming to conquer the world. They were thought to be extinct after Moryo was sealed, but apparently… Anyway, the bond between that accursed clan and the demon resulted in the creation of the Yureigun, the ghost army. It is an army of nigh invincible stone warriors, powered by the evil force of Moryo himself. If Moryo is brought back, he would take control of the army…"

"Dammit. Another threat in a world that's already on the brink of war," Jiraiya, uncharacteristically, cursed when he heard Shion's news. "So whoever is behind this, would be capable of destabilizing the entire world. We cannot allow both parts of the demon to reunite."

Everyone in the room agreed to that.

"What is a demon?" Genkuro suddenly asked.

"You're… you're kidding, right?" Taruho frowned. How could anyone living at a temple not know what a demon was?

Genkuro shook his head, clueless as ever.

Temari just pinched the bridge of her nose, and sighed deeply. "We don't have time to explain that now, Genkuro, but the short explanation would be that a demon is an inhuman and evil entity who wishes to destroy everything."

"Correct," Jiraiya nodded. "But why are you two coming here? To stop that army, you would need an army of your own."

"The army has not shown itself yet," Taruho sighed. "Because of that, the other nations did not respond to our messages. They probably do not believe our claim."

"Fools," Shion huffed. "They are all fools if they think that they can just play around with their stupid wars, while ignoring Moryo."

"So, you need us to guard this tramp, before those lunatics can unseal both parts of the demon?" Tayuya summarized. "So, are we going to the swamps, or the Land of Demons? I vote for the latter."

"Tayuya, this isn't a laughing matter," Temari sighed once more. "Seriously, you are as childish as Genkuro…"

"Not my fault."

"You could at least pay attention."

"Why? As if those shit-heads could even do a thing once Flamey-kun arrives."

"…Flamey-kun? Seriously, Tayuya?" Temari deadpanned.

"Not the strongest nickname I invented, I admit, but it'll get better," the redhead gave a wide grin. One mimicked by Genkuro, who barely understood how painfully bad the nickname actually was. For effect, he even manipulated the flame from the candle on Chiriku's desk, while copying one of Jiraiya's worst poses.

"Who is he?" Shion finally asked what bothered her ever since she saw him. The fire in his eyes, his strange manipulation of fire, they made no sense to her. "What is he?"

"Genkuro!" Genkuro laughed.

"It doesn't matter who he is," Temari interrupted. I would rather know why you came all the way here, rather than stay near the seal that holds the demon."

"Didn't you listen? There are shinobi who targeted my life. I am the only threat to their plans, so naturally they tried to eliminate me," Shion frowned, as if she truly could not comprehend if someone could be that dense. "My guards bought me enough time to get here safely, but now I need more capable protection."

"Is that any way to talk about the people who sacrificed themselves for your sake?" Temari wondered. "

"Shion-sama is the only one who is able to stop this situation," Taruho told. "Which is why we fled. But with a shinobi of Jiraiya-sama's quality, we should be able to stop this."

"What can I say, I'm just awesome!" Jiraiya grinned, when he saw Genkuro looking curiously at him. But he turned serious right after. "If this situation is as grave as I think it is, we have to move out quickly. We have to gather our things, so let's gather by the gates in one hour, okay?"

"Oi, who says we are going? That kind of high-profile mission is going to draw a lot of attention on us, you dumb fucktard," Tayuya growled.

"I told you before, you three can't keep hiding forever," Jiraiya sighed. "Besides, Genkuro needs to gather more experiences if he wishes to grow."

'I don't want him to grow..' Temari thought by herself. However, she did not speak up. She wasn't sure that she had the right to hinder his growth. Still, the idea that Genkuro would someday remember her part in his death saddened her. 'Then again, Jiraiya-sama had a very good argument about protecting Genkuro while he is still so unstable. I know I would have told him if I thought that he could deal with it…' Lost in thought, Temari nearly jumped out of her skin when Genkuro gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Temari?" he asked, then added, "He is right."

"Eh? It is best for you, isn't it?" she smiled calmly, hiding her reluctance. Though he did seem to notice her discomfort, he trusted that she would not lie to him. He always trusted her. That knowledge made her feel even more miserable. 'Is it truly for his sake that I kept silent about his past, or am I just selfish?' Temari had been abandoned by everyone; she could not bear the idea of being abandoned yet again…

Genkuro was still pouting, something that amused Tayuya quite a bit. But the two girls had managed to finally get him dressed properly. It had taken them quite a lot of persuasion to get him to wear those white pants, but now they had finally succeeded to get him to wear a haori on top of it. The mid-length coat had long and wide sleeves, yet still Genkuro was constantly messing around with those sleeves. Tayuya could feel his discomfort through their mental link; apparently he felt trapped by that simple piece of white fabric. Though just for the sake of fun, Tayuya and Temari had added nine magatama around the collar. Well, in truth Genkuro only had four of those symbols on his back, Tayuya had found it more fitting to increase the number to nine, considering that he was the former host of the Kyuubi, or the Kyuubi himself. Whatever the hell Genkuro was supposed to be, Tayuya felt that the number was fitting.

What irked Genkuro most about his new garb, though, was the black sash that held the haori together. Even the strictest voice Temari could muster had barely made Genkuro listen.

'He's such a moron sometimes. He doesn't have single issue sitting still while we wrap those locks of hair framing his face in bandages, but he does nag about a stupid sash…'

Tayuya herself had chosen something easier to wear. Simple black calf-length trousers, along with a white shirt that hid a fitted mesh body armor underneath. Tayuya had also been lucky enough to find a hat, one quite similar to the one she used to have during her time in the Sound Four. Temari didn't know why the red-haired girl was so obsessed with hats, though Tayuya would say the same about the blonde's obsession with her ponytail.

Though, she always ended up tying it in the same single spiky ponytail, the one Tayuya usually pestered her about because it looked a lot like Guren's. The fact that the blonde didn't have a clue about Guren only made teasing her more fun for Tayuya. Curious people are easiest teased with the things that they do not know. Temari had picked a simple white short dress, on top of a fitted mesh body suit. Unlike Genkuro, who preferred walking around in bare feet, both girls had picked simple sandals.

Much as Genkuro was annoyed by his sash, Temari kept readjusting the straps that held her nodachi in place. The longsword hung on her back, but the straps that kept the sheath in place were still a bit too tight on her chest.

As the trio walked towards the temple's entrance, they noticed that Taruho and the priestess Shion were already waiting for them. Taruho shortly explained that they had sent out Honen to fetch Jiraiya.

"Oh great, I forgot that baldy was sent along to guard his precious 'Genkuro-sama'," Tayuya grumbled. "That Honen is no fun at all."

"You think all the monks are boring, Tayuya," Temari sighed. "At least Honen isn't as preachy as Arata…"

"He's still boring though. And Arata wasn't so bad after Genkuro scorched him," Tayuya laughed. Taruho paled, and even Shion, who seemed to be determined to show how she stood above this 'common rabble', suddenly paid attention.

"I said I was sorry," Genkuro moped. "I didn't want to hurt Baldie-sensei, I only tried to do what he did to me."

"And you nearly boiled him to death. Cheh, perhaps the old perv is actually right. Some experience would do you good. I pity the moron who would try to fight you though," the redhead snickered. She looked at the massive bronze gates. The statues of two Tengu stood as silent guards. When they entered, Honen had told them that it would take at least one fully trained monk to open the doors in its entirety. Well, that was before Genkuro had just pushed them open like it was nothing special. 'It takes another kind of warmth.' was his explanation then, when the baffled young monk had gawked at him.

It was much like how Taruho and Shion ogled him now, when he impatiently just barged through the gates, claiming that he wanted to see if Jiraiya and Honen had been waiting on the other side.

"Don't ask, he's just a special case," Temari didn't bother to explain any more. Frankly, she didn't like Shion enough to even want to make any effort at clarifying his situation.

"He certainly is special," a calm voice sounded. A pale monk in training walked towards the group. Well… 'walked' would be an exaggeration. He limped. With his left leg still tightly wrapped in bandages, the black haired boy used crutches to move around. "I must admit that I did not know there were guests in the temple," he smiled. Though, Temari shivered when she heard him talk. Perhaps it was natural to be curious about a person who effortlessly opened up gates which were designed to be practically impenetrable, but something about the boy unnerved her.

And apparently not just her. "Who are you?" Shion demanded.

"My apologies, priestess, my name is Sai," the boy bowed slightly, as much as his injured condition allowed him. "Though, I am merely a monk in training, so my name is not of any importance."

Tayuya played with her flute. She noticed that something was off about him. Actually, his pale skin and weirdly emotionless expression reminded her of the man she feared more than anything. Orochimaru. 'It is too soon. He could not have taken a younger body already, could he? He would have needed more time before his new host would be ready, and he could shed his current host…'

Still, she kept her flute at the ready. If this guy tried anything, she would act.

"Out of curiosity, might I ask what you are going to do?"

"Not really your business, is it, Whitey?" Tayuya did not bother to hide her animosity like Temari did. "Why the fuck are you so damn curious?"

"I suppose being polite with you is a waste of time," Sai still kept that not-so-convincing smile plastered on his face. "Though I suppose that should be expected…"

Genkuro picked that moment to return. Obviously, Honen and Jiraiya had not been waiting on the other side of the gates. With him being as patient as ever (not), he had quickly given up on his search. Temari, however, did not like it how Sai looked at the taller blond. While all the monks, especially the younger ones, had shown their interest in what they had thought to be the incarnation of a fire god, this pale boy's interest was of a calculating nature, not a reverent one.

Surprising Temari, Genkuro for once was not unaware of these tensions. In fact, his demeanor towards Sai was quickly put in words he undoubtedly learned from a certain foul-mouthed redhead: "Screw off."

"…what?" for the first time, Sai actually showed surprise, which was then followed by a shivering Temari could not understand.

"You are too cold. Leave, now."

"Oi, no need to be that rude, shithead."

"Really, Tayuya?" Temari sighed. "You of all people talk about rudeness?"

"Well, he ain't me, right?"

Genkuro ignored the two girls though. He just kept staring at Sai. Well, it was not that it could really be seen that he looked at Sai, considering his unusual eyes, but somehow everyone there knew exactly where he was looking- and the look was absolutely not friendly.

Knowing that this was a situation he could not salvage, Sai simply bowed and left. Although his smile was still firmly in place, Tayuya swore to herself that she saw the boy sweating. Having once been an opponent of Genkuro herself, she could not exactly blame him. 'It is weird that Genkuro is this hostile though. Sure, this pale piece of shit is a rather unpleasant type of guy, but for him to react like this…'

Tayuya shrugged it off when she saw Sai walk away. A mere monk in training was no threat to them, she believed. "Ah well, at least our flamer has stopped messing with his sash," Tayuya chuckled. He looked at bit surprised. "Yeah, moron, you don't see Temari making such a fuss about her sash, do you?"

He shook his head.

"Then stop making such a big deal about it. Hell, you've got to wear something. Or do you want walk around nude?"

"What is the difference," Genkuro shrugged.

"People. Wear. Clothes," she tapped him on his chest with every word she spoke. "Deal. With. It."

Shion looked from Tayuya to Genkuro, and then from Taruho to Temari. "Is he mentally retarded?"

"He lost his memory," Temari sighed. "He still has to adjust to… well, everything."

"But he didn't… He was naked all the time?" Shion couldn't help but blush a little at the idea.

"Wasn't a bad sight indeed," Tayuya noticed the slightly flustered priestess and decided to make things worse for her. "He might be a childish idiot, but he does have the right tools, doesn't he, Temari? Not too big, not too small. Just perfect.."

"Tayuya, behave," Temari grumbled, although a faint blush of her own contradicted the firm tone of her speech.

"Tools? I didn't have tools," Genkuro frowned, totally missing the point.

"And as usual he fails to understand what I mean. He's so cute when he's clueless," Tayuya laughed. Shion's confusion was too funny for her. 'She tries to act all superior and priestess-y, but she's actually not so bad, is she? And by the looks of it, she has never been close to guys either… this trip could be more fun than I expected. Perhaps I should try to use Genkuro to prank her?'

Sai had barely closed the door of the main building behind him when Honen and Jiraiya walked down the path. Jiraiya was talking away, while Honen did not seem to know how to respond. Or if. But when Temari heard the words 'Icha Icha' from a distance, she facepalmed. "Let's hit the road."

Taruho kneeled, letting Shion on to his back.

"What the fuck is this?" Tayuya watched with growing surprise when Taruho carried the priestess. "Does our little princess not know how to walk?" she mocked.

"Shion-sama was not trained as a shinobi. We move faster when I carry her."

"Tsk. Typical. Spoiled brats…"

Shion huffed and looked the other way. In a moment of surprising insight, Genkuro walked towards Tayuya and kneeled in front of her. "Carry?"

Her eye twitching, Tayuya actually needed a second to convince herself not to say yes. But after just having made fun of Shion, she couldn't accept his offer without losing face. And the wide goofy grin that was plastered on Genkuro's face made it painfully obvious to her that he knew that. So she smacked him on the head. "The hell I am! I'm not some lazy spoiled moron who needs to be carried. I'm a frickin' badass kunoichi," she boasted.

'It would be boring if I always stay the responsible one, right? Ah well, who cares,' Tayuya and Genkuro both stood tongue-tied when Temari walked to the still-kneeling Genkuro. "Well, if you refuse, I'll accept it," she smirked at the redhead. 'I guess I was sort-of a princess anyway.'

"Oi, wait a-"

But Tayuya was too late. And too perplexed to properly protest, as well. As Temari embraced the blond from behind, Genkuro mimicked Taruho by holding Temari's legs, so that Temari would be firmly in place when Genkuro would start running. Firmly pressed against his back, Temari could enjoy the comforting warmth that Genkuro always radiated.

With a large drop of sweat adorning his face, and a few drops of blood underneath his nose, Jiraiya wondered what the hell was going on. But he knew from experience that remaining silent about it was the best solution- the least painful solution, at least. "Whatever, ready to go?" he tried to salvage the situation. Which could have worked, if not for Temari sticking out her tongue against Tayuya…

Jiraiya went through the gates. With Taruho not being a shinobi, and Genkuro being unable to gather his chakra, they would have to move on the ground rather than through the tree-tops. It was a slower method, but escort missions were usually slow anyway. He looked at the two bickering girls, as Tayuya still couldn't accept her 'loss', and shook his head. "This is going to be long trip, Honen…"

"A very long one, Jiraiya-sama," the bald young monk sighed deeply.

"I wonder how the priestess will react when she finds out about their sleeping arrangements though," Jiraiya donned his infamous perverted smile. "I bet she would quickly join them."

"Please don't make this any worse, Jiraiya-sama…"

"Fine, I'll try to behave," Jiraiya sighed. "By the way, do you want something for that nose of yours? You're losing quite a lot of blood at this rate."

Minutes after the group had departed from the temple, a flock of odd ink-black birds left the room of a certain young monk in training. It did not take long before the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure received an interesting message from his infiltrator… that two high-profile targets would move through Hi no Kuni. Eliminating the princess of Sunagakure was something that stood high up in his list of priorities, as it would permanently destroy the threat of an alliance between Iwagakure and Sunagakure, Danzo considered. Even though she could potentially give access to the kekkei genkai which her father and younger brother had possessed, she was too dangerous to keep around. With Temari missing, the symbol of the treaty was gone. But if she would resurface…

At the same time, removing the presumed-missing kunoichi of Otogakure made it to the top of that same list, as Danzo saw her as a threat due to her knowledge of his secret dealings with Orochimaru. In other words: those two had to die. Danzo looked at the document, and could not help but scowl, 'Sai provided useful information, but why is the data so incomplete… '

Tatsuma's team is the only Root-operative available right now, apart from my personal guard, and he leads a squad with two regular anbu. But if what Sai noted is correct, those girls are accompanied by someone capable of taking on such a squad. But what does he mean by 'an unclassified fire-based kekkei genkai?' And that remark on not being able to measure his chakra… I think I should re-evaluate his training once his mission is completed.' Danzo felt annoyed by the unusually high number of unknown variables, even for his line of work, but there was no time to gather additional information. He needed to strike now, before the trio moved out of Hi no Kuni.

It was just bad luck that the border patrols on that side of the nation were already stretched thin. Guarding the borders with Kumo and Iwa certainly had high priority, and Danzo had too few of his own trusted men at hand on such short notice.

"I will have to use my backup. It will be a good test of whether Shisui's eye is indeed strong enough to manipulate him," Danzo mumbled to himself. If his hidden guards heard anything, they did not show it. Danzo still felt irked that he could not just keep his office down in the Root facilities. 'It was a stroke of luck that I could cast that genjutsu on a man of his calibre. Still, I have no doubts that a sennin like him will eventually break the Kotoamatsukami.'

But if things went according to plan, and the Ichibi would reform and be sealed once more, then Otogakure would not be a threat anymore. Surely Danzo would have enough firepower to subdue the treacherous Snake, and capture the last known Uzumaki whom the man thought he had hidden so well.

It would be direct orders accompanied with a blood seal. Not even the infamous sennin would be able to cast this aside. Orochimaru would have no choice but to eliminate them all.

Author's notes:

Well now… This update took way longer than I anticipated. The short explanation being that I wasn't satisfied with where I was going with Pareidolia. The long one being that I got bored by my original plans, to the point where I even considered dropping the story. And judging by the lower number of reviews the previous chapter generated, so did you. So, I threw away the rudimentary planning, rewrote this chapter, and wrote a new outline. Hopefully this will satisfy both you and me. After all, it's more fun writing when you know people appreciate what you're doing. So please review this time, and share your thoughts!

Is this Shion mission filler? Hell no. I'm going to do something crazy with it. And this was the original purpose of Pareidolia: an outlet for my creative insanity. To create a story in which nothing is what it seemed to be.

Credits to my beta Illuminated for providing the idea of adding Sai to the story, it really fits with the reformed planning! Anyway, thank you all for your patience. While The Honoured Guest is my 'main' story, it baffles me that Pareidolia got this popular. It's already approaching 1.000 followers! I can't say that I understand how it happened so quickly, but thank you all!

Next chapter: Hatred.

-Z-

Sai

His true name unknown, this boy was given the codename 'Sai' by his master, Shimura Danzo. The pale young man received the standard Root training, removing every shred of emotion he had. His origins unknown, being orphaned before he was recruited into Root, Sai showed an unusual talent in ninjutsu. As such, Danzo valued him as an infiltrator.

Gender: male
Age: 16
Height: 172.1 cm
Weight: 53.3 kg
Blood type: A

Ninjutsu: 4
Taijutsu: 3.5
Genjutsu: 3
Intelligence: 3.5
Strength: 3
Speed: 3.5
Stamina: 3.5
Hand seals: 4

Total: 27.5

Note: As part of a three man unit, Sai infiltrated the Fire Temple in order for Konoha to take the pseudo-jinchuriki Sora. When this attempt at kidnapping Sora failed, the trio realized that their cover was blown. Still, as they were not sure at that time whether Sora would survive his injuries or not, they realized one of them would have to stay behind. In order to remove the suspicion from him, the other two infiltrators injured Sai, as none who had seen him had survived the encounter. Believing he was merely an innocent bystander, the monks took him to the infirmary, where Sai got stuck for nearly a month. Sai thought for a while that his decision to stay behind was fruitless, considering that his target had perished. But using his chakra-infused ink, Sai still managed to provide useful information to his master…

Arata

Like many of the young boys who grew up in the temple, Arata was an orphan of unknown origin. Presumably, his family died during fights near the border of the Land of Hot Water (Yu no Kuni). A travelling monk found the nearly starved boy, and took him along. Ever since, Arata has pledged his life to the Fire Temple.

Gender: male
Age: 37
Height: 165.1 cm
Weight: 57.1 kg
Blood type: AB

Ninjutsu: 3
Taijutsu: 4.5
Genjutsu: 3
Intelligence: 4
Strength: 2
Speed: 4
Stamina: 2.5
Hand seals: 3

Total: 26

Notes: Arata is a full-fledged monk, and has earned the third rank of his training with his hard work and diligence. His mastery of the temple's taijutsu style, combined with the Senzoku no Sai, is great enough to use the raigo.

Jutsu and translations

Raigo: Shihai = welcoming approach: domination. Immobilizing the opponent by striking him with a massive fist; more advanced users can create multiple fits and create a continuous attack, among the more basic skills of the Raigo.