Pareidolia
Chapter eleven
Hatred
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
― Martin Luther King Jr.
They had made a lot of ground during the day, and she was more than glad that their taicho had decided to take a break. Resting on the riverside, she unwrapped her feet and disposed of her now rather smelly sandals. The mask was great, but the anbu outfit was not really her first choice of clothing- but it came with the job.
"Ahhh," contently, she let her heated feet slip into the water. Aburame Tatsuma, their taicho, was gathering food. They didn't protest, though she swore she would check her food for any residual bugs. Their leader was the typical silent Aburame. He could barely be seen, as he sported the same style of clothing as the rest of their clan, including the dark sunglasses. He wore this despite his position as one of the Root anbu, their Godaime's elite corps. Then again, with that black hooded cloak, it was practically impossible to distinguish him from any other Aburame. Well, the blue marking on his left cheek was unique, she had to give him that.
'Perhaps we made a mistake when we accepted this position in the anbu. Perhaps Lee and Gai-sensei were right. But… Danzo-sama was elected as our Hokage, how are we supposed to doubt him in this time of war?' Tenten sighed, and leaned backwards while kicking her feet in the water. Even Neji had admitted that he missed their goofy teammate and their sensei. But like her, he had thought that their position within the anbu would give them a better shot at improving the world around them. Besides, it was their duty to the village.
But what had they achieved? It had been two years since their world changed. The Sandaime died, and team seven perished too. Lee had taken quite a hit when he learned that Haruno Sakura died, just as Neji had been unexpectedly troubled by Uzumaki Naruto's demise. Tenten had been baffled by their reactions, as she had dismissed Lee's infatuation as shallow and fleeting at first. Sadly, it was not. Though still goofy as ever, Lee had shown a more thoughtful side after Sakura's death- and doubled his training intensity, if possible, as he proclaimed he would never allow people as bright and beautiful as Sakura to get killed.
Neji, however, had stated that his life was changed by Naruto. The little blond loudmouth had beaten the Hyuga, but it had not been the physical defeat which had weighed on Neji. No, he admitted that his eyes had been opened by what Naruto had said. He had changed his way, and became a bit easier to approach, and toned down his arrogance a lot.
Unfortunately for them, the election of the Godaime Hokage had not done them any good. For some reason which Tenten couldn't figure out, the four sensei were all very tense whenever Shimura Danzo was discussed. It didn't seem that they were openly rebellious, but the jonin council did not seem to have much faith in their new Hokage. Perhaps this was why Gai had been so disappointed when Neji and Tenten had accepted a position within the anbu corps, thus showing that they had sided with the Hokage. But for the two of them, the past was the past. Neji had a point when he said that people never get any better by lingering in that past. All they could do now was move on and walk towards their fates.
In addition, as part of Gai's team, they had only got lackluster missions whenever there were no skirmishes at the borders or open war with Sunagakure. Tenten and Neji wanted to mean something to their village, and as an anbu, they would have meaning. However, Tenten suspected that Neji also did it to move himself further from his clan's authority. But the shady circumstances of the sudden disappearance of Hinata seemed to justify his distrust.
"Tenten, Tatsuma-taicho is coming back," the Hyuga disturbed her impromptu pediluvium session. The girl sighed, but knew that missions were more important than footbaths, no matter how nice the latter were.
"Hyuga-san, Tenten-san," Aburame Tatsuma appeared as Neji had warned. "It is time to discuss our real mission."
"Real mission?" Neji frowned. "Weren't we supposed to find and capture a rogue genin?"
"The real mission was classified," Tatsuma held up two pictures. Tenten immediately recognized the blonde girl on the left image.
"Her!"
"These are our targets," the Aburame continued as if he wasn't interrupted at all. "Temari of Sunagakure is someone that you two know from your Chunin Exams, and the redhead is a traitor from Otogakure. Both targets are to be eliminated. There is, however, an unknown third shinobi with them, which is why we are waiting for reinforcements."
"I thought Temari of the sands had died a while ago," Neji mused aloud. "She was married off to Iwagakure as a symbol for their alliance. Her disappearance sparked another series of conflicts in which the alliance of Iwa and Suna was undone."
"That is why she must be eliminated. Why you ask? Because Godaime-sama wants to remove any possibility of those two villages rekindling their bonds and unite against Konoha."
"I see.. Then who are our reinforcements?" Neji frowned. "Judging by the data, Temari and this Tayuya should not pose much of a threat to the three of us. Is this third person that strong?"
"It is… unknown," Tatsuma never showed much emotion, but this hesitation made many things clear to Neji, and to a lesser extent also Tenten, who was not gifted with the byakugan. "The information sent by our spy suggested that he might be physically very strong, and that he has an unusual affinity for katon jutsu. Countering the physical ability is the reason why you are here, Hyuga-san."
"Understood."
"As for our reinforcements, they should arrive in this area tomorrow morning."
"Which squad did Godaime-sama send?" Tenten wondered.
"You are missing the larger picture here, Tenten-san," Tatsuma sighed. This uncalled outburst, for an Aburame, of emotion only emphasized how unnerved the man was. Something about this mission did not suit him at all. "An alliance between Iwa and Suna would not just form a problem for us. Otogakure, too, would face overwhelming odds. And with one of their own being at the scene as well, they sent out a delegation at the request of Godaime-sama."
"Oto?" Neji did not hide his disgust. Then again, this was part of the reason why Tatsuma didn't like this mission that much: this was way too high-level for a couple of fresh recruits like Neji and Tenten. They hadn't even gone through the last stages of their training, and yet Danzo had sent them. But there was no abundance of capable personnel who could execute this mission right away, and some of the jonin who were available were not trustworthy enough for such a delicate situation.
"Orochimaru and one of his henchmen will join our attack. Therefore, I had to tell you. Why you ask? If I had not told you in advance, either of you could have made unadvisable moves against our temporary allies."
"Working with Orochimaru? What is-"
"Tenten!" Neji cut her off before she could say anything which could be interpreted as treasonous. "We know what to do, taicho, thank you for your warning."
The Aburame nodded ever so slightly, turned, and left after stating that he would take first watch.
"Insufferable peasant."
Temari got another headache. The constant bickering between Shion and Tayuya annoyed her from day one, but things were getting worse ever since Shion had gotten a splinter. To say that the spoiled priestess was a complete opposite from a hardy shinobi like Tayuya was an understatement.
Even Genkuro seemed affected, although it could also be that he was restless due to something else.
"Why did you treat that pale monk so harshly, Genkuro-kun?" Temari tried to get him to talk. She knew that if Genkuro was talking, Tayuya would at least shift her attention away from the spoiled priestess.
"Good people don't feel cold like that," was all she got out of him, before he turned away. Temari sighed.
"What is bothering you? You know you can tell me, right?" When he had looked like a child, she had tried her best to make him smarter, but now she wished he just acted like a baby again, and came to her with his every problem. Times were much easier back then, when it had been just the two of them.
His face turned towards her, the flaming orbs acting as his eyes seemed like bottomless pits. For some reason, he seemed saddened. "Dreams..."
Yes, he was rather restless at night, and they would know. If only to annoy the prudish Shion even further, Tayuya insisted they kept the same 'sleeping arrangements' as usual, despite camping out in the open. And considering how Genkuro didn't oppose, and Temari hated to lose to the redhead… Well, Honen protested, but that was all the young monk did so far. He was all bark, no bite. Shion huffed, and kept out of it, and Taruho seemed used to not questioning strange decisions in his vicinity.
Only Jiraiya openly supported them, but that was actually the thing which annoyed the girls most. His lecherous grins, his constant scribbling in his notebooks…
"Let's call it a day, we've got plenty of ground to cover tomorrow," Honen stated, before he crawled into the tent he shared with Taruho. "I've had all I can take with your immoral behavior."
"Immoral?" Tayuya scoffed. "There's nothing wrong with what we do. It's just that you are such a closet pervert, which is why you are making an issue of it."
"Closet pervert?" was Honen's indignant response.
"Yeah, the three of us are just sleeping in one tent. Just because you're a pervert, doesn't mean we take advantage of poor innocent Genkuro-kun."
Honen chose to flee from the discussion he wouldn't win, and closed the flap of the tent- an act which made Jiraiya snicker.
"Shut it, you are the worst of the lot. Although, you are barely better than our spoiled priestess who can't stop blushing whenever Genkuro shows a bit of skin," Tayuya just managed to say before Temari dragged her into their tent.
Clueless, Genkuro looked from the agitated priestess, the loudly laughing toad sage, to the blankly staring Taruho. Unable to form a consensus from the various thoughts he had regarding their little ragtag group, Genkuro just shrugged and followed the girls. The world was a strange place to one who doesn't understand it. In spite of his young-adult appearance he wasn't even a year old, by all accounts, so he'd understand this 'social behavior' thing eventually, he hoped.
But why were some people cold and the others warm? Why did the presence of those two girls comfort him, why did they make him feel warm? Was it emotions? Everything in this world was connected, Genkuro could see that, as clear as day. Everyone seemed to be a collection of energy, encapsulated and solidified by their physical forms. One had much of this energy, like Jiraiya, while another had only very little of it, like Taruho. One felt warm and pleasant, like Temari, another felt cold and distant, like that monk named Sai at the gates of the temple. While Sai wasn't physically different from others, his warmth did feel different from others. It wasn't like he was angry or anything, it was just… nothing. His emotions, they were an empty void.
Humans were strange. And yet, within this web of endless variation, people tried to see patterns. Even when those patterns weren't there. For instance, Temari had once explained to him why males and females were different. Yet, Genkuro could not see the difference. Sure, there was a structural difference, as there were inherent differences between the bodies of a man or woman. But both contained the same energy. Both emitted warmth.
In his eyes, everything was different and therefore equal. Amounts differed, but it was inconsequential. An animal had less warmth, yet the same right to exist as a human, just like plants and trees. It was also why Genkuro couldn't understand the point about 'killing' with Temari kept making. Whether he drew warmth from a tree, an animal, or a human being… there was no difference to him.
He merely followed his instincts. And as a newborn, he needed to consume energy to grow.
Did he really not discriminate in whom he took that energy from? Well, ever since he first met Temari he had that weird sense of recognition. She felt familiar, so he spared her, as she made him curious. The curiosity had grown into the strange bond they had today. Genkuro would never allow anyone to harm her existence. Her energy, her warmth, they were crucial to the continuation of her life. And without her, he knew he would fall back to his previous state, where everything was boring, when nothing mattered.
In a way, he had always known he was alone. He knew that there was nothing in the world like him. At nights, he had stretched his senses as far he could, to the point where he would risk his warmth dissipating, but never had he found anything which was even remotely alike. Temari had relieved him from that loneliness. She had taught him, cared for him, and made him feel alive.
And when they met Tayuya, that loneliness he once had felt had shrunk even further. Through experiencing her memories, he had learned so much. And still… there had been so much suffering, so much pointless acts of hatred, that it had left him confused. He knew that he had rescued Tayuya from the deepest pits of despair. He knew she was grateful, but as she snuggled up against him, trying to catch sleep, he wondered what her emotions meant.
There were so many of them. There were warm ones, like when she squabbled around with Temari, or when she was near him, but also plenty of cold ones... perhaps this was a consequence of her need to restore her own memories. The drugs and the cursed seal had erased much, but none of it was truly lost. In the vast hall of mirrors which formed her memories, she needed but to repair the ones which were broken. But whenever she shivered, he knew she learned something of the darkness she went through.
Honen told him that he could only sleep with one woman. Genkuro did not know why. As much as he valued Temari, so did he feel the urge to protect Tayuya. She was strong, something he knew better than anyone. A weak person would not have been able to endure what she endured. She could fend for herself. And yet, he knew that she was vulnerable. Who wouldn't be, after what she experienced? The experiments, the training, the horrible missions she executed, it would be enough to break most people. Most people, but not her, it turned out. Still, it left scars, which still brought a vicious pain.
While none connected as strongly to him as Tayuya did, upon every touch Genkuro could get a faint impression of what someone felt. While some, like Jiraiya, experienced a lot of grief, the vast majority did not. Shion, Taruho, or Honen, they all knew pain to some degree, but would not understand what Tayuya went through. Jiraiya would, but he hid himself behind that goofy mask. Only Temari… but she had her own demons to face. At nights, he felt her fear. But unlike with Tayuya, he never experienced her memories. He didn't understand Temari to that level, so how could he help her? All he could do was to send his own warmth to her, in an attempt to ease her pain. And both girls enjoyed sharing a bed because of the warmth he radiated. The comfort he offered. Tayuya even claimed she couldn't sleep without him, on that one evening he returned home late.
As he tried to get to sleep, flanked by the two people he valued above all, Genkuro began to wonder if he actually understood either of them. What had he experienced, that he could say that he understood them? There was no way he could interpret their emotions and experiences, if he did not know anything of himself. Who was he? What was he? Those were questions nearly everyone he met had asked him, yet for almost the first time he began to wonder what the answers to those questions were.
His dreams, those were key. Those vivid dreams, in which he saw things in such detail, experiencing things from a point of view that was him-and-yet-not-him: Tall and small, young and old, healthy and sick, recovering or wounded. There were so many different dreams...
If Tayuya had such a vast hall of mirrors, how huge would his own be? If Tayuya's shattered mirrors represented memories which she couldn't recall, how many shards would he have in his mind? He wanted to sleep. He wanted to see, to dream, to know who he was. Even if they hurt, he wanted to touch those shards. It frustrated him. He… He needed to…
With Tayuya cuddling up to his right, and Temari resting with her blonde head on his left arm, Genkuro had drowsily drifted into the darkness of his sleep.
Surrounded by trees, he saw three poles. This was a familiar place. It was a training ground from which he had good memories, but those good memories were of no importance now. He was anxious, scared even, of something that he had to do. He was afraid to fail, afraid to confirm all the mistrust people held against him. He craved for acceptance, but feared he'd never get it if he lost. It was his one shot, his first shot, at acknowledgement. The enormity of the situation overwhelmed him. He didn't want to be a failure anymore, but his opponent…
His body was small, like that of a child, but surprisingly sturdy. It brimmed with energy, but he knew that part of that power was not his own. It was borrowed power, power leaking from a much stronger entity.
But he wasn't alone. A girl, about the same age as him, was standing in front of him. Well, in front… She was mostly hiding, only one of her pale eyes peeking around the pole to look at him. Her hair was dark blue, her skin fair, and her face was gentle, albeit more than a little shy. Apparently he startled her while she was training.
"You're alright now?" he asked.
She said a name, stuttering over her own words, but he couldn't hear. He was confused about why she was there. The thoughts in his head were filled with concern about her, wondering why she wasn't in a place called 'hospital'. At the same time, seeing her bandages made him lose some of his uncertainty. He remembered how she got injured, who had done it. But why couldn't he hear this name she stuttered?
"Why… Why are you here? Ehm… Isn't t-today the finals..." the girl spoke a little louder, though still barely audible.
"Well.. I just came to check out this practice field, since this is the place I became a genin..." he felt himself say with a faked confidence.
"O... oh. Why?"
He didn't know what to say. He doubted himself, and everything, at this moment. Here she was asking him questions, any other day he would be elated that someone showed interest in him, but today... "Nothing! Who cares?!" Today. he kept his façade of fake bravado up.
It seemed to destroy what little confidence the girl had, making him feel guilty, but at the same time he didn't know how he was supposed to act. Always, he acted, as he knew that no one was interested in him, he tried to act in a way to get people to show interest. But when she even apologized to him, (seriously, the number of people who ever apologized to him could be counted with the fingers of one hand) he broke. After all, he felt some sort of admiration for the determination the girl had shown before, in her fight. He had seen her pain, and felt like he could relate.
Perhaps he should stop expecting the worst?
With a deep sigh, he dropped his façade, confusing the girl. Obviously, she paid close attention, though it eluded him why she did that. But when he asked her about one of her relatives – why couldn't he hear names? This was his freaking dream, so why were some things blanked out? – she seemed to get depressed once again.
"He's strong, right?" this relative of hers was someone he had to fight. The one whom he was afraid of. No… he wasn't afraid of that guy, but rather afraid of the possibility he would lose in front of the entire village. He wasn't afraid, but did know he was strong, knew that there was a huge possibility that he would...
"B-but you might be able to beat him, Na-"
He laughed loudly, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence, but even to his own ears the laughter sounded hollow. "Yeah! I'm really strong!"
He continued to chuckle, although he was beating himself up inwardly, as he knew he had acted like a moron again. Then again, why did she say such things? Why did she ask? No one cared about what happened to him. The only times people paid attention were when he pulled pranks. Otherwise, he was a pariah.
In the dead silence which followed, he immediately dropped his façade again. He didn't know when he had pulled it up again. It was a stupid automatism, and even he considered it rude to act like this in front of her. Then again, he couldn't figure her out at all. Why was she asking?
"Oh... Umm..." she hesitated, but stepped a little the right, hiding less of herself behind that pole. Fidgeting with her index fingers, looking everywhere but at him, she continued. "W-when you cheered for me… I felt like I had become s-stronger… After the prelims ended, I started linking myself a little more..."
He felt himself freezing up. He had that effect on someone else? Sure, he had been mad when she got injured in her match, and impressed by her determination, but… What was it that he felt? Embarrassment? Was he shy? He was never like that. Then again, no one ever spoke like that to him. Plus, he had not dropped his façade like that in many years. And yet this girl...
Apparently his amazement was visible, as the pale-eyed girl started to fidget more and more. "To other people it may not seem like I changed, but… I… I felt like I was able to change... It was all thanks to you. I think."
"Ahhh! Thanks to me, eh?" what was he doing? Why was he acting like a confident moron again? When had his façade slipped back on? Stop! Stop, before you mess things up again! "Yeah, I'm very influential!" Too late. He had done it again. Idiot. His laughter died in his mouth, and he sighed once more. "Hey, did you… did you really think that?" it had to be a lie. She had to be lying to him. No one would ever think about him like that, it was impossible.
"Huh?" the girl seemed distressed, as if she expected rejection from him, rather than the other way around. Before he asked his question, she seemed to become a little more confident, but when asked… He wondered how it could be that a girl of her lineage could have so little confidence in herself. Of a hated orphan it was to be expected, but from someone of the strongest clan in the village? She was practically royalty! It didn't make sense to him. That one question broke what little determination she had. She was of high birth, and yet…
Why did he have the feeling he could relate to her? She was exactly like him, wasn't she? Should he stop pretending? Why the hell not, why not trust her. If she laughed at him like all the others did, then so be it. But for some reason he knew she wouldn't.
"I may appear strong to you but… that's because I act all tough because I'm so frustrated from always failing," he admitted, showing how dejected he truly was. "I-"
"That's not true.." the shy girl suddenly cut him off. She even smiled a bit. "In my eyes, you're a proud failure!"
Wait, what? She… was she complimenting him? Or making fun of him? He hated the complicated stuff, he could never figure out what others meant. Whether it was his clueless expression, or that she suddenly realized what she had just said to him, she tried to hide behind the pole once again, fidgeting as much as she blushed. "When I look at you I get an intense feeling in my heart…" her voice shrunk to a volume at where he could barely hear her. "Because you're not perfect.. Because when you fail, you have the strength to get back up… Because I believe that is what true strength is… I… I think you are an incredibly strong person, Naru-"
The entire environment shifted. The little girl who had amazed him so much, who had nearly moved him to tears, vanished like smoke in the wind. The trees, the poles, everything was gone. In a dreary dark night, a silhouette stood in front of him. It was a grown man with glowing red eyes, staring at him with an intense hatred. Those eyes were unlike any had had seen from him before. Three large tomoe with circles at their tops overlapping each other at the bottoms and encircling the pupil. These eyes stared at him.
The vision shifted again. There was an excruciating pain, and a man stood in front of him, holding the spear that pierced his chest. His own sword had sliced open the man's stomach, showing his intestines to the world. The man stared at him with anger, his red eyes had three-tomoe, but reverted to its usual black color before the light of his life left him.
Red eyes, red eyes, so many red eyes. He knew their names. He knew he had known. He had to know. They were an object of fear, of admiration, of rivalry, of… brotherhood.
Sharingan…
But he didn't want to see those accursed eyes. No matter how they were shaped. He wanted to see the girl with the pupil-less white eyes. The girl had shattered his doubts, and filled his heart with determination. He wanted to see that girl, who had cheered him up. He hated the sharingan, but people like her… he really liked people like her. He knew that. But wherever he ran, men with red eyes showed up. He sank deeper and deeper into the dream, but he wanted to go up. He wanted to see her. She was about to say something important. Something crucial. His name?
But even when he chased the women in his dreams, she took different forms. Red hair. Brown hair. The most beautiful women, and some just plain looking yet with a charm unlike any other. He could see them, but not her, not the girl with the pale eyes. Yet for some reason, he found an attraction to each one of them. It was… he felt torn. He didn't want them, did he? Why would he want them? He.. Who was he? She wanted to say! He needed to get back!
A woman with black hair appeared. Her proud features reminded him of Tayuya. He knew she would have the same fierce appearance once angered. But she was much taller, and her spiky hair was more like Temari's, as was the way she spoke. She held him close. He could feel her pressed against him, and it awakened something within him… it was as pleasant as it was confusing. What did she do to him? Why did she hold him like that? "I am sorry that he decided to do that..."
"Why couldn't he accept it? He has everything I never had. Everything I wanted to achieve. Why did he… We are brothers!" he felt himself lean closer to the woman. Her voluptuous chest pressed against him. The softness, the warmth, it comforted him even though everything seemed to be so desperate. "We fought."
"You won, my dear," she kissed him in his neck. He shivered at the touch of her lips.
"Then why do I feel like I lost?"
The smell of her hair, it… No. No, he needed to get back. That girl, she was about to tell him his name. Why did that seem so important? Why did he… Red eyes. No! She had white eyes. Not more. Not deeper. He… Up! He needed to go back! White eyes!
Panting, covered in sweat, Genkuro jerked up. His heartbeat went wild, as if every vein in his body contracted. He still saw all those eyes stare at him, he...
"Genkuro?"
He flinched back at the sound of her voice, rolling out of the tent. "Oi, shithead, get back in here!"
What was going on? He still saw those hate-filled red eyes staring at him, but he wanted to see that girl with the white eyes. It wasn't real, it was his dream which still flooded his senses. His head hurt, emotions wildly fluctuating, and… he ran. A tall white-haired man blocked him, but he effortlessly pushed him aside. He felt like he would explode with the frustration boiling up inside him. He wanted.. He needed to..
He didn't know how far he had gone from the camp, but he stopped and roared. Roared from the frustration he felt. He wanted to know. Who was he? Why? Why did he dream those dreams? He felt empty, and fell to his knees.
It didn't take long before two pairs of footsteps came running towards him.
"Holy fuck!" he heard one of the girls exclaim. He remembered again. He had been confused when he woke up, but now he knew. It was Tayuya.
"Genkuro," Temari approached him carefully. "What just… What got into you?" She asked kindly, but he heard from her voice that she wouldn't take no for answer. He had to either answer her, or piss her off- and he didn't want the latter.
"I want to know," he whispered hoarsely, his throat still raw from his outcry. "Those dreams... those eyes, she had white eyes, and she knew… She wanted to tell me. My… my name. But then..." he felt the frustration boil up again.
But this time, he was stopped. Through the connection between them, through the bridge created when he left part of his soul within her to usher out Orochimaru's influence, she felt his pain. Such horrible pain… She could feel how torn he was, the longing, the confusion. Most of all she felt the frustration because he didn't understand. She couldn't bear it.
Genkuro froze up when Tayuya embraced him. When she saw what effect that had, Temari joined in. "Please don't," Tayuya said softly. "Don't feel like that. Please, it hurts..."
He had kept a bit of distance, but Jiraiya felt himself release the breath he had been holding when he saw them. The young man, embraced by the two girls. The three of them kneeling amidst all the destruction. Uprooted trees, torn soil… 'He just gave the expression 'exploding with rage' a whole new dimension. Damn. This was close, if he had done this in the camp I doubt the others would have survived. Even I would be in serious trouble.'
The same thought that occupied him while walking back to camp also filled the heads of Temari and Tayuya: should we tell him? Should we tell him that we suspect that he is Uzumaki Naruto? He deserved to know the truth, or what they suspected to be the truth, but on the other hand… Outbursts like these showed how volatile he was. Genkuro had a severe mental trauma, and apparently had only recently begun to remember things of his old life. If they told him about Naruto, would that jolt his memories, or only add to his frustrations?
As the three eyed the scorched and torn-apart forest, the tens or hundreds of yards of destruction, they all realized that either choice was dangerous, but that telling him now would likely cause another of these explosions. He would not be able to deal with it.
Honen, Taruho, and Shion were all wide awake when Jiraiya returned to camp. "Don't worry, it seems Genkuro had a nightmare or something," he tried to calm them. But they too would have heard or seen the explosion.
"Can he be trusted?" Taruho obviously had concerns about having a person as dangerous as Genkuro near Shion.
"He made some distance, didn't he?" Jiraiya shrugged. "If he wanted to kill you, he could've easily done so."
But Shion didn't let herself be distracted. She held a bell in her hands, the thing which she usually kept as some kind of charm. "What is he, Jiraiya-sama..."
Something in her voice made him shiver. A mixture of fear and confusion, and something he couldn't quite place. "What do you-"
"I had a dream. I saw him die. But it wasn't him. I saw him, but he was young. A boy, crushed by a demon made of sand. I saw it, and I knew it was him, that it was Genkuro… But it is impossible!"
"Shion-sama, are you sure that-"
"Taruho, you know how these dreams work! I am not mistaken, he is… He already died."
"Being who you are, it must frighten you," Jiraiya smiled wistfully. "To meet someone whose fate is impossible to predict. The blond boy you saw is indeed him, priestess. That boy died, yet returned as something else… Something no one knows what. And he doesn't know either."
"He doesn't know who he is?" Shion blinked.
"He doesn't remember who he once was," Jiraiya nodded. "He seems to remember some things, and says that when he dreams he also relives things… As you can imagine, the nightmares he has have quite a different meaning than the ones we normal people have."
"Should I tell him what I saw?"
"It is best you don't. I suspected that he was that boy, but now that you have seen him, I am sure. But still, with how volatile he is right now, it would likely jeopardize our mission if we told him. He has much to deal with, and I do not wish to add any more to his already burdened soul."
"Is that why they stick so close to him?" Honen wondered. "Even at the temple, they seemed to help him."
"They do. Their presence calms him down, and be thankful that they do…" Jiraiya grimaced, not just at the thought, but also because of his ribs. His pride had been a victim too. Being casually swatted away like that, for a man of his reputation, was not the most enjoyable feeling.
"Ugh, I'm all dirty," Temari mumbled when they stood up, trying to swat the ash from her clothes.
"Once you go black..." Tayuya smirked.
"Don't go there, please," the blonde sighed. "I'm sure it will be interpreted the wrong way."
"What?"
"Don't play innocent with me."
"Sure, whatever you want, sis," Tayuya shrugged. "Let's get to the river. It shouldn't be too far from here. It's nearly morning anyway, so I doubt we'll get any sleep after this chaos."
"Sorry," Genkuro sighed.
"Well, you can repay it," Tayuya scratched her chin, striking a pose as if she was seriously pondering about something.
"Oh no. No. No, we're not going down that way," Temari cut her off. Bad Tayuya, Bad! "After being woken up like that, I'm not in the mood for your foul-mouthed schemes."
"Hey, I only wanted to suggest that we should take a bath. There's a river near camp, and were all covered in ashes because this half-wit here," she gave Genkuro a playful, though firm, jab against his chest, "torched down half the forest."
"Water is cold," the blond grumbled.
"I can keep you warm," Tayuya suggested, though her innocent smile did not convince Temari at all. "Tsk. Spoilsport. We're sleeping together, so what's the point about bathing together?"
"At night, we keep our clothes on," Temari deadpanned. "Admit it, you just want him naked."
"W-what?! I didn't mean it like that," Tayuya sputtered. Genkuro looked at her, and frowned. He didn't see the point, but if it made her happy… Why not?
Temari stopped mid-sentence when Genkuro unwrapped the black sash, undid himself of his dirtied haori, and pulled down his pants. He noticed the girls staring at him, and he gave them a blank stare in return. "What? You wanted me to undress, right?"
Grabbing her nose to stop the bleeding, and trying as hard she could to not blush as if she glowed in the dark, Temari tried to compose herself. "Get those pants on, you can't just lower them like that, you idiot!"
"Why not?" he noticed that Tayuya had a nosebleed as well, and the weird mixture of emotions… For some reason he was reminded of the dream, where that black-haired woman comforted him. What he had felt when she leaned against him and…
"You can't just go naked in front of everyone! I told you that before!"
"Is something defective? I can change it if something is wrong."
"That's not the point!" Temari shouted over Tayuya's 'you're perfect as you are' remark, which she uttered after a rather obvious look downwards. "You can't just undress in front of everyone, it… it's indecent!"
"Indecadent?"
"Indecent," she corrected him. "It means that is improper or vulgar. Like how Tayuya generally acts."
"Hey!" someone was not amused by the playful jab. Though it did drag her eyes away from Genkuro. Well, from a part of Genkuro.
"But… Look, just don't do it in front of everyone again, okay? I… Ehm, how should I explain this to you?" Temari felt a little frustrated. He always took things so literally, and explaining such normal concepts as clothing and nudity was just... Ugh, why were the simplest things the hardest to put to words? "Ah, yes! You should only undress in front of the woman you love, but otherwise you should keep it to yourself."
"Love?" Genkuro had heard the term more often, but every time Temari and Tayuya avoided talking about it. In fact, the latter pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that the blonde just made things worse, far worse. "What is love? It's not another piece of clothing, right?" Genkuro found clothing far too restrictive, and considering he was burning up anyway, he didn't need it to keep warm either. He hated those unnecessary rags!
She looked at Tayuya, but the redhead was busy cleaning her nose. Temari had brought it up, so she could deal with this mess herself as well.
Seeing that the redhead wouldn't help her, Temari sighed. "I guess I had to explain it eventually. Love is… Erm. Help me out, Tayuya, will you?"
"A man and a woman having sex," she said without any hint of shame. 'If the Bimbo creates this mess herself, I might as well increase the chaos a bit!'
"That's lust, not love," Temari protested. She didn't want Genkuro to learn about sex. After what nearly happened to her, Temari doubted she would be comfortable around him if he knew about that. She'd rather keep him innocent, even though it was very obvious that he wouldn't stay like that for much longer. Those dreams changed him. Far faster than she wanted him to...
"I suppose," Tayuya shrugged. "But why are you asking me? I've been enslaved by Orochimaru for most of my life, and it isn't like that bastard ever taught us stuff like that. He was only interested in creating obedient soldiers. Anything related to romance or sex was deemed 'unproductive' or 'inefficient'."
"You're right, I'm a fool thinking that you could help," Temari sighed, earning her another glare. "Well, it's not like I'm the perfect person to explain it."
"Eh? But you know everything Mari!"
"Don't blame me if he gets the wrong idea," Temari looked at Tayuya. "Love is probably the strongest emotion someone can feel. It is the opposite of hatred, and yet the two are related. Love is… well, there is the physical part, though that is mostly 'lust', but love is more about how you feel. The person you love is someone who gives your life meaning. Someone who you'd like to be with all the time, forever. Someone for whom you'd gladly lay down your life, if it means you could save her that way. Love is something that gives you hope, no matter how bad things seem to be. They say that when you're in love, you feel like the sun is always shining, even though it's a rainy day. The person you love makes you happier than anyone else," she felt awkward talking about this. Being the daughter of the Kazekage and sister to a monster, she never really had many boys nearby. After she and her brother had been blamed for what her father had done, and for what their little brother had failed to do… well, outcasts were never in high demand.
"Love is light?"
"No, don't take everything always so literal! It is a feeling!"
"So, the person I love is the one who is the most important to me?" Genkuro frowned. "Why one?"
"W-what?"
"He asks why he can't love more people at the same time, bimbo," Tayuya cut in.
"I, umm… I don't know," Temari admitted. "But they say you can only feel true love for one person. Sure, you can platonically love as many people you'd like, but I don't want to confuse Genkuro with that."
"So… I have to unclothe in front of those I love, and those I love are the people who are most important to me and who give my life meaning? Okay," Genkuro shrugged and lowered his pants once again.
"What are you doing!" Temari screeched. Neither of them was prepared for that turn of events, so both got nosebleeds, again. Now they really needed a bath…
"But you give my life meaning, and make me happy, so I have to lower my pants, right?" Genkuro was truly lost right now.
'But who did he mean by 'you'? Or both of us? Does he love me, or her?' both girls had the exact same thought, at the exact same moment.
Genkuro understood none of it, but then again, the concept of love isn't easy to understand. It had to be felt, to be experienced. But for him, what did he experience, with that black haired woman of his dreams, the bossy red-haired woman, or perhaps that girl with her pale eyes, who impressed him so much, who had nearly told him… What did he want to hear from her? Why was what she tried to say so much more important to him than all those other women in his dreams?
It mattered little. Temari was the first person he ever cared for. All the others had been burnt to ashes, but she… well, she was special. He didn't know why, but she was. The bond he had with Tayuya was special as well. Was it love? All he knew was that Temari's awkward descriptions were fitting, so he guessed it was. He didn't understand why it had such an impact on the two. The dirty looks they gave each other while they walked in front of him confused him. Was it because of him? He did wear his pants again, even though it was only after them threatening him that he would have to wear a shirt underneath his haori if he did not put his pants on right then and there. So what was the issue? They cared about each other, so why…
Apparently love was a source of strife? Genkuro tried to shrug it off, but he found himself unable to do so. The three of them had travelled together, accepted each other, and he thought it was obvious they cared about each other. So why would a thing like this cause friction? Unless, the definition Temari gave wasn't really 'love'.
Because if it was, they wouldn't argue with each other, would they? Genkuro never understood the strange kind of 'blindness' others had. The way he saw Tayuya, the way Tayuya saw him, it was something no other human had. His feelings affected her, her feelings affected him. But apart from them, none of the others truly 'felt' the other. Instead of sensing, they seemed to use that something… that thing he couldn't explain to them, they deformed it. They abused it, and channelled it into their attacks.
It was as if they gave up their eyes, and used them as weapons instead.
But why? Sure, a weapon was useful to a regular human being, but to someone like Genkuro, weapons were meaningless. What good would a weapon have if you could even use it properly? A blind man couldn't aim an arrow without sight. From the changes in their warmth, Genkuro knew that Temari and Tayuya were fighting over something. Why couldn't they see this by themselves? If they did, they would see that both had the same fundamental emotion.
Standing by the waterside, Temari and Tayuya first made sure that their clothes got cleaned. Patting out the dust and ashes, then washing whatever dirt remained. The bloodstains from their noses were harder to remove, but at least they could be rubbed out until it was just a somewhat darker stain. Genkuro had just jumped in, more or less under orders, as Temari had not possessed the patience to explain him why they needed clean clothes.
"Just leave them to dry," Temari said to Tayuya. The latter had washed her white shirt, and pulled out her black pants.
"I'll take a bath too."
"She loves us too," Genkuro chimed in. Though the glares they shot his way convinced him to retreat, as apparently he had a really wrong idea of what 'love' was. Then again, Tayuya kept her panties on, and had her chest still wrapped in linen. Well, she had tried to take those off as well, but Temari had sent her such a foul look that she had reconsidered. Seducing Genkuro would have to wait.
Not that the scene went by without any effect. It was a bit unnerving that Genkuro suddenly recalled that dream again. That black-haired woman, who pressed her chest against him… why did that feel so confusing!? Why did it feel so good? He didn't understand, so urged himself to focus on something else.
Temari hung her white dress on the same branch as Tayuya had her arranged clothes, so they would at least dry a little while they bathed. Unlike Tayuya, Temari had a strange piece of clothing called a 'bra'. It eluded Genkuro why they covered their breasts, when there was no issue if he kept his chest uncovered but… 'Dammit, why do I keep recalling that woman!? Why do I keep looking at them like that?'
Seeing them shiver in the cold river water, he spread out some of his warmth. It was a bit difficult in this slowly streaming water, but he had gathered enough warmth anyway. In his rage, he had consumed a fair share of trees and small animals. And he hadn't even felt hungry at all..
'Was that like what happened when I first met Tayuya? The thought that they would hurt Temari… Something erupted,' Genkuro wondered. 'No, back then, the feeling seemed to collapse, as if it opened a bottomless pit which sucked in all warmth. What just happened went outwards, not inwards.'
Finally, both girls relaxed. The warmed up water soothed their tired bodies, and gave them a chance to properly wake up. Especially considering how Genkuro had woken them up this early in the morning… Temari wasn't much of a morning person. Back in Sunagakure, she only got started after a good mug of coffee, but that sort of luxury couldn't be found out here. In contrast, after her years as Orochimaru's servant, Tayuya didn't care much about the hour she woke up. She, however, did get grumpier when it was late in the evening.
Lazily floating, Tayuya gave a deep and satisfied sigh. "I wish I could spend the entire day here."
"Hmhmm," the blonde nodded in agreement.
But he didn't. Genkuro surprised them by suddenly stepping out of the water. Upon his departure, the warmth immediately flowed away, leaving them once again shivering. "What the hell! Get back in here!" Tayuya was not pleased. Just when she was enjoying herself, he did that.
"I need to pull on my pants," Genkuro did as he spoke.
"For fuck's sake, you chickenshit, you hate clothing and now you suddenly-"
"Temari said I need to wear pants when others are near," his simple statement made them feel a chill which didn't come from the cold water. Shion and Taruho weren't able to sneak up to them that silently, Honen wouldn't do something as improper like that, and Jiraiya… well, they taught him the hard way what would happen if he tried to spy on them again.
"How many?" was the first thing Temari wanted to know.
"One feels cold like the monk in training," Genkuro remarked. "The other two seem normal."
"How far?" they both were rushing to put their wet clothes on. Temari drew her nodachi, and Tayuya pulled her flute from the seal she had hidden in her pants.
In response, he just pointed. A dark brown-haired girl with her hair in two buns jumped through the forest line. She was anbu- Konoha anbu, judging by her hitai-ate. She was followed by a young man with long, dark hair and white eyes: a Hyuga. "Fuck, how did these freaking anbu find us?" Tayuya growled.
Lastly, their leader, was an adult male judging by what little they could see. His eyes were covered by dark sunglasses, and his body mostly hidden within his cloak. "He is cold," Genkuro remained perfectly calm. "But these are not the problem. Two more are coming. One feels… familiar," he hesitated. Was this the same presence he met within Tayuya's mind? It felt eerily similar.
The tendrils of his senses retreated. He would need all his warmth, if he wanted to win this.
"You!" Temari suddenly gasped. "You're that girl from the Chunin Exams! And you're that guy who got his ass kicked by-"
A barrage of kunai flew at her, forcing her to hush and dodge. Tenten was here to do her job, not for idle conversations.
Genkuro wasn't exactly worried. He could feel that Temari had more warmth within her than this girl. Though, just to be sure, he grabbed the large scroll she carried on her back. If the girl could get so many weapons from a tiny scroll, he knew the big scroll was likely to be bad news. Neji was fast, but not fast enough to save the scroll. Angered at the loss of so many weapons, Tenten tried to hit Genkuro, but if Neji couldn't hit him, then he was way too fast for her.
No, Genkuro wasn't worried, until he noticed Neji's eyes...
Aburame Tatsuma silently watched the scene unfold, but when Tayuya played her first notes he vanished in a cloud of insects.
"Nothing is ever easy, fuckdammit..."
"White eyes-" something about what Genkuro said made Tayuya feel a bit of fear. This deep sense of longing, this frustration, it was the same as why he had snapped earlier. It even overruled the vague sense of recognition Genkuro had when he first saw the Hyuga and the bun-haired girl. He was too livid to pay attention to such things right now. Tayuya couldn't understand it. Why was he suddenly so obsessed with those Hyuga? What did he dream about?
A bit restless after the night's events, Jiraiya was still on edge. As such, he immediately sensed the disturbance. It was just a bit outside the perimeter of seals that he set up around the campsite, but a shinobi of his stature wouldn't have come this far without picking up some sensory skills.
"Jiraiya-sama?" Honen wondered why the sennin suddenly stopped mid-way while taking a sip of his canteen. Anything that came between the man and his sake was something worth paying attention to.
"We're under attack," the sennin said grimly.
"What?" the young monk exclaimed. "Are they after Shion-sama?"
"Doesn't seem like it. Tayuya and Temari are under attack, but they've got Genkuro with them. Still... I made some preparation in case this would happen," Jiraiya held up a scroll. "This barrier would prevent practically anyone from entering."
"Practically?" Honen remarked skeptically.
"Yep, there's never an absolute guarantee. There aren't many, but there are those who are good enough with seals and barriers to break through. Although, the number of people who are at my level can be counted with one hand," the white-haired man remarked casually. "The real downside is that you three won't be able to leave. So stay put until I get back."
"Hey, you can't just… Taruho is still out there, he just went out to collect breakfast!"
"Our mission is to protect the priestess, he will understand," Jiraiya ended all discussion.
Shion wanted to protest, but Jiraiya had already bolted away. Then again, Shion had received a dream, long before they even came near Hi no Kuni. She knew… Taruho would not leave this nation. She warned him, even, but still he had gone. But the thought that she could only helplessly wait behind these barriers was vexing. As much as she had been forced to accept inevitability, she still hated her accursed 'gift'.
Rushing through the trees, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a certain amount of panic. 'I don't know who is stupid enough to piss off Genkuro right now, but if he has another one of his little fits while the girls are nearby… Dammit!'
"What an unexpected pleasure, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya stopped. That voice, it couldn't be… "You!"
"Fate has decreed that you are my opponent," Neji calmly stated. While Naruto had shattered his original beliefs, Neji had retained some of his original thoughts on the matter. After all, a loser like Naruto had been able to defeat him, but even Naruto had been powerless against his own fate. In spite of all the bravado, big words meant little in the face of your inevitable death. So while Neji was stripped of his arrogance regarding his own capabilities and insight, he still firmly believed that a person's fate was pre-determined.
He had vowed to grow to a level where his byakugan would indeed see that fate, as the most powerful of his clan had boasted to be capable of doing.
"White eyes," Genkuro hissed in response. "You know her!"
"I am Hyuga Neji, not 'white eyes'," the Hyuga replied stiffly.
"You. Know. Her. She had white eyes! Tell me, now!"
Neji eyed his opponent. The blond young man was taller than he was, four inches by the looks of it, and his body was lean and muscular like a well-trained shinobi. Only… what Neji saw was not chakra, was it? The man had eyes, if they truly could be called that, made of liquid fire. The churning orbs pierced into his own pure eyes, making Neji wonder what those eyes would see. Because what Neji saw was somewhat frightening.
The blond man had no tenketsu to speak of, not the usual kind, at least. No, while his body was so similar to that of normal human being, it was structurally different at the same time, as if someone constructed a human body without proper knowledge of how it truly functioned on the inside. It was a mockery against nature. The bones were there, yet oddly different and in places there were simply too many. Neji could see an extra set of ribs, for instance.
However, there was no fixed system of tenketsu. When Neji looked with his byakugan activated, he saw something which he could only compare to a flame. It was ever-changing and all-consuming, yet somehow caught and encapsulated by a mass of flesh, bones, and muscles. It was as if his true nature was visible through his fiery eyes. The physical body was not just some kind of cloak, as Neji could see how intertwined the flames and flesh was. But it was… abnormal.
He was fundamentally different from any shinobi Neji had ever seen. Chakra was a mixture of physical and spiritual energies, yet this strange being possessed something which was different. It was as if there was no difference between his physical energy and his spiritual energy, and it had merged into something else, something transcending normal chakra. Neji couldn't comprehend what he saw, and in fact, he even began to realize that there was something else in there as well… as if there was a third source of energy mixed into it.
"You have her eyes, tell me!" Genkuro demanded. He was frustrated. He wanted to ask about the girl in his dream, but how could he explain it? He didn't know how he remembered her. He didn't know her name. He only knew… "The blue-haired girl had white eyes like you. Tell me about her."
'Blue-haired...?' Neji froze. He had taken a guarded posture, opting for defense while his opponent's abilities were unknown. But this remark… blue-haired? Could it be Hinata? Was this abomination connected to her sudden disappearance? Did he…
Genkuro felt his frustration grow when Neji jumped at him. He focused his warmth to his body. He knew he was strong and fast enough to handle someone with the amounts of warmth that Neji possessed.
But Neji had not become a jonin without gaining skill equal to the rank. "Hakke Kusho!"
A pinpointed 'vacuum shell' nearly forced Genkuro off his feet. The tremendous force was enough to blast most regular opponents away. But Genkuro had felt it coming, via the shifts in Neji's warmth. So, he had just rooted himself to the earth, much like how he managed to withstand the attacks from the monks at the Temple of Fire.
It did, however, create an opening which Neji could exploit. Nailed to the ground, Genkuro could not move quickly enough, and Neji ducked under his guard. With his arms still crossed to block the earlier shockwave, Genkuro couldn't block Neji's strike from below, a strike right to the heart; a successful strike to the heart. Neji saw the damage he had inflicted to his peculiar blond-haired opponent.
The insult… This man looked eerily similar to an older version of Naruto, the one who had changed Neji's life, who had started the chain of events through which Neji had mended the broken ties between him and the main family of his clan. Had it not been for that defeat, Neji would probably not have learned the truth about his father. To think that the man who apparently knew about Hinata's disappearance looked like that boy, the boy who had died several years ago, it was the salt on Neji's still-open wounds.
"She was lost for months," Neji growled. "At least I had the honor of avenging her. Hinata-sama… She already suffered so much, and you-"
"Hinata?" Genkuro frowned.
"What?"
"Her name, it is Hinata?" Genkuro clarified. "Where is she? Where is Hinata?"
"But… your heart," Neji for once doubted his own eyes. The organ was damaged severely, with blood clotting up within the man's chest, but he just seemed to be completely unaffected. It should have been enough to kill any man. 'What is he?'
"Where is she," Genkuro was starting to lose his patience. With a gust of his warmth, he repaired the source of his pain. 'Strange. None of the baldies could cause such damage. Even though I used my warmth to shield myself from the damage, this white-eye managed to hurt me. How could he bypass my shield?'
Neji darted back, seeing how Genkuro healed himself, but it was too late. The unrelenting strength of Genkuro was beyond his ability to beat. Juken was useless. Genkuro grabbed Neji by the throat, his strong hand closing slowly but unstoppably. "Hinata. Where is she? Who is she? Tell me," His grim expression was completely unlike the carefree behavior Neji saw from afar earlier.
Genkuro had longed for answers ever since Temari had taught him to think and talk. After his dream, he knew that this girl would hold one of the many answers he sought for. He had to know. There was no other option which crossed his mind. This white-eyed young man had to tell him.
Neji choked as Genkuro lifted him from the ground. "You… She is missing… Presumed dead… No one knows. You… You must have been the one… who killed her."
Temari had to admit that she really missed her good old giant folding fan. The defensive qualities of her nodachi were far below that of her fan. She recalled fighting this bun-haired kunoichi during the Chunin Exams, all that time ago. It had been a short and completely one-sided battle. Barrage after barrage was thrown, but with her fan they were easily deflected.
The large blade did not offer that possibility.
Then again, the wind chakra channelled through the blade offered an attacking power unparalleled by what the bun-haired girl could muster. The soil was torn to bits from the attacks Temari had sent her way, trees were ripped apart, and Tenten was constantly forced to dodge.
Besides, whenever Temari felt threatened by the girl's weaponry, a simple "Futon: Daitoppa" could solve any problem. But she had to give the girl credit for the growth she had gone through. Back in the days of the exams, Tenten would have quickly fallen.
'Or is it because I grew weaker? I didn't get much combat experience in these last years. I picked up training again when we arrived at the temple, but still I'm quite a bit below the level I should now be,' Temari mused. It was not that it mattered much right now, as her winning her match was an inevitability considering the huge advantage she had over the bun-haired anbu. 'Yet the fool apparently insisted of fighting me, because of how she lost last time.'
Her evasive behavior became a bit annoying though. Tayuya had vanished on the other side of the stream, behind the trees, while locked in combat with the Aburame. Temari wanted to help, but kept missing. Until…
Until Genkuro was fed up with the situation. His frustration got the better of him after Neji falsely accused him of murdering the very girl he had dreamt about. Genkuro knew that he had never seen that girl before, and yet… Unable to fight with words, Genkuro lost himself to anger. He wanted to know the answers to his existence, and he had the feeling that girl could have given him those. He had felt it, that girl had known him. Not the outward persona, but who he really had been. She had known him better than anyone else, which was why he had been so impressed by her. Genkuro had to meet her.
And Neji denied him that chance.
Temari swung her nodachi, and the powerful slash of wind ended Tenten's screams. She had screamed his name as she saw Neji's motionless body slump down. Genkuro may have been unable to channel chakra the conventional way, but his physical ability was fearsome. A slight loss of control, and the power of Genkuro's hand had become too much for Neji's spine. With a loud crack, the Hyuga lost all control over his body.
Before fire consumed him, he watched helplessly as his long-time friend… well, he had wished that it could have been more than just that. Now he couldn't do anything but watch how Tenten was slain alongside him. 'I'm sorry, Gai-sensei. My impatience… if I hadn't agreed, Tenten would have stayed as well. Hinata-sama, I'm-'
"Shall we go and help Tayuya?" Temari tried to ignore the burning corpse. The hungry flames did their work fast, and returned all residual energy to Genkuro. But Genkuro didn't even look at her. He was gazing somewhere back, in the direction of the encampment.
"That warmth feels familiar."
"What warmth? Come on, we need to-"
"You will help Tayuya, I will help Pervert-san."
"Jiraiya? Why would he need… Dammit, Genkuro, at least listen to me before you rush away!" Temari growled but he was already gone. "Fine then, apparently you think Tayuya and I are sufficient to deal with that bug-freak. But you definitely need to be taught a lesson."
This typical sound of laughter always irked him more than anything else, from his rival, his teammate, his friend… his enemy. Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru.
"Jiraiya, Danzo never said anything about you being here… I wonder if the old fox was trying to get rid of me," the snake sage chuckled. "Even after all his trouble to use Shisui's precious eye against me. He must have realized that I would break his genjutsu eventually."
"Why… Why did you do this?"
"I thought you of all people would be appreciative of this change," Orochimaru said with not a little mirth. "But as unexpected as it was, it turned out to be a perfect test-run for my new body. Even I am surprised. After all, that food-collecting moron we just met was not even a proper warming-up exercise for me, so Kabuto had-"
A new entrant interrupted the snake. "Pervert-san?"
"Oh my, we have another guest?" Orochimaru barely looked at Genkuro. "Please make sure we are not interrupted, Kabuto, I just had my moment of fun with my old teammate."
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama." The bespectacled young man with his ash-grey hair turned towards Genkuro. "So… Shall we?"
"I don't care," Genkuro just moved past him. Kabuto lashed out, attempting to drive his chakra scalpel into Genkuro's chest, and still Genkuro ignored him. With a bleeding wound, Genkuro just stood there and watched.
He saw her.
She was older, making him wonder how long it had been since he had seen her. But she was definitely the girl he dreamt about. Even if she was half-hidden by the shadows cast by the tree above her. The gentle form, the radiant pure eyes… it was her. But at the same time it wasn't. He felt this presence. He saw a second source of warmth within her, one which had taken over her body. It was the same as the one who had hidden himself within Tayuya. The scaly white snake, who had kept Tayuya's psyche imprisoned, using her for his own ends.
But with Tayuya, he had only been a small power capable of manipulating her to some degree. What he saw now was on a whole different level. The light shifted, and the shadows move from her face. The gentle face was now covered by a sickly pale skin, the shyness in her eyes replaced by a haughtiness which that girl would never have displayed. Her eyes were still of the same white, yet surrounded by a black and yellow pigment which wasn't her own. It was her, and yet it wasn't.
Wearing the default outfit of Otogakure, including the weird pretzel bow, there was little left of the kind girl known as Hyuga Hinata. Cast away by her village after she had lost what little confidence she once possessed with Naruto's death, Hinata had been set upon a path of vengeance. Misguided and manipulated, she was driven into Orochimaru's arms. Orochimaru told her that it had been Konoha and her clan whom had been responsible for Naruto's death, for her mother's death, and for her treatment.
Her long, blue hair was stuck up with two long pins, which moved as she tilted her head slightly. "How peculiar, a boy with eyes of fire? And with my byakugan I can see that you are extremely unusual…"
"My apologies, Orochimaru-sama, I will remove him at-"
Kabuto would never remove anyone. Genkuro saw it. The girl of his dream had been twisted into this. Frustration had overtaken him earlier, leading to a literally explosive rage. But now… this was something he had only felt one time before. His flames retracted, darkened. His warmth turned cold. His brightly radiating eyes-of-fire had turned black as obsidian.
He was beyond angry.
Genkuro had lost his one chance to find out who he was, all because of this man. The very same monster that had put Tayuya through all that pain, a pain which Genkuro had personally experienced while he had gone through Tayuya's memories in order to find her core. Jiraiya shivered as he felt the temperature drop drastically, even though half his body was shut down due to the demonstration of juken which Orochimaru had just performed. He noticed how the earth cracked underneath Genkuro's feet. Any nearby plants suddenly withered and died, having all their energy drained from them. 'Oh shit...'
This was what Kabuto tried to attack. This was what turned towards him, staring at him as if those pure obsidian black eyes could view into his very soul. 'What is he?' was the last thought which crossed the mind of Yakushi Kabuto.
A Claw-like finger moved, faster than even Jiraiya's eyes could follow. Even Orochimaru took a step backwards when he saw how his most trusted subordinate got his throat torn asunder, with a mere show of brute power. The spy would never utter another treasonous word again. Both sennin could feel the unnatural and extremely low temperature which radiated from Genkuro.
Frost bit into the medic's skin, into his very bones. Kabuto, unable to even scream in his anguish, froze. He tried to save himself by using the In'yu Shometsu, but his cellular healing was impossible. The chakra just drained from him, vaporized by the freezing presence of Genkuro. Genkuro claimed the warmth of all that was weaker, leaving everything frozen as a result. And by his tearing into the flesh of Kabuto, Taruho's murderer got infected by that arctic aura. In his despair, Kuboto tried to look at his master. But when the coldness spread, stopping the blood running from his torn throat, Kabuto's eyes failed him.
His frozen irises cracked, and his body followed. Shattered to pieces, the torment of Yakushi Kabuto was ended.
"So… you are the one who managed to kill both the Sound Four and Kimimaro," Orochimaru whispered. "Never before have I met someone as interesting as you…"
Author's notes:
Dreams and emotions, these two concepts made this a very difficult chapter to write (and edit, unfortunately for Illuminated). But I think the outcome is pretty good. In particular, the dream sequence was a part which I loved writing, especially because it revealed more about Genkuro then what most people assumed up till now. And through Neji, I showed you a little about what Genkuro is, as well.
But despite this being the longest chapter of this fic, I suppose it is still a very bad moment to stop the chapter, for you guys at least. Has Orochimaru completely taken over Hinata's body? Will she try to break free now that she sees Naruto reincarnate? And what will Genkuro do? What can he do? Will Genkuro discover his real name? And those other dreams… how did he get those?
I'd like to alert you all to my new story Apophenia. In this story, Minato and Kushina were rescued by someone, and Naruto grows up in a loving and caring environment, rather than as a hated outcast. It will focus mostly on his time at the academy, and eventually on his time during the Chunin Exams. Check it out! I'm convinced you all will eventually like it.
How do you like the new cover image? As always I have to thank my beta Illuminated, but I also need to credit the advices given by ensou. Talking about her, you guys should check out her stories. To the Tayuya-fans among you, especially, as her story The Eternal Torment of Tayuya Uzumaki will be something you will like a lot. So read her stories, and leave some reviews. All writers love reviews, this one too. No matter how short, a writer can always use your support! So share your thoughts and emotions, and help improve the stories you are enjoying!
Next chapter: Love.
-Z-
Orochimaru
One of Konohagakure's legendary Sannin. This man is obsessed with immortality and the acquisition of all skills and bloodline abilities, seeking for the origin of power. His originally interest, however, degraded into something vile and unethical.
Gender: male (originally); female (current body)
Age: 52 (originally); 15 (current body)
Height: 160.6 cm
Weight: 45.0 kg
Blood type: A
Ninjutsu: 5
Taijutsu: 3.5
Genjutsu: 5
Intelligence: 5
Strength: 3.5
Speed: 4.5
Stamina: 3.5
Hand seals: 5
Total: 35
Note: using his Fushi Tensei jutsu (Living Corpse Reincarnation), Orochimaru recently took over the body of Hyuga Hinata. While not particularly interested in her talents, he inhabited the body in order to get access to the untarnished byakugan. Unlike previously, this time the sennin is carefully preserving the container in order to postpone the time his soul is rejected. Knowing that the Hyuga clan is related to the Uchiha clan, Orochimaru is intrigued in the true abilities of the Hyuga dojutsu, and whether it is truly linked to the sharingan. Aside from that, it offered him a unique possibility to study the clan's juken taijutsu style.