Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Norihiro Yagi.
Chapter Twenty-One: Dream A Little Dream of Me
(The Genjutsu)
Teresa felt her eyes opening into a black haze with nothing but what seemed to be silhouettes dancing around her view.
Her thoughts were jumbled. Hazy. Blurred - as if she knew where she was but could not quite grasp what it was. What was this feeling?
She tried to move, but her head could do nothing but loll to the side, poking at her narrow shoulder and causing a slight ache to form on her visage. She felt herself grimace from the slight pain upon the impact of her cheek to her collarbone, though, it felt as if her head was floating...where was her head going? moreover, where were her thoughts going?
It felt as if she were there, but not there. As if she were awake, but not awake. Was she floating in an infinite abyss of hazy objects and darkness? Or was she... she did not know how to finish her own thought.
The words eluded her, the ideas were fleeting and her mind could not comprehend anything close to everything or something. What was that thing?
A groan escaped her lips and the silhouettes she had so desperately began to focus on began to inch closer and closer towards her, shouting words she could not fully understand.
"...awake...incapac-...before... she..."
She vaguely remembered this to be a man's voice...
The thought itself caused her to want to seethe, get angry, but the need to do so was diminishing - as were all the emotions and thoughts that she wished to feel were.
She was clinging desperately onto something tangible, but she could not grasp any of it, like her hands were trying to clutch something palpable or at least something...
Feelings were blunted, thoughts were unfathomable, senses were dulled. It was all a puzzle that's pieces could not fit together.
And then she felt an unbearable pain erupting from the side of her skull, it shot through her temporal lobe and burned with an increasing fire as the searing hot aches spread throughout the rest of her head in its entirety.
The yelling got louder.
But the pain somehow negated the shrill noise that seemed to reverberate throughout - wherever she was.
She could feel some sort of warmth spreading down her forehead, like waters cascading down her face, easing the burning aches from her head, but the smell of it was alarming and all the more acrid. The aroma of something sweet and metallic and pungent permeated her senses and thoughts of crimson began to flash in her head.
Why was she smelling blood?
The yelling was increasing in volume each minute.
Another groan escaped her lips and she ached for some form of comprehension, but why, oh why could she not understand what was happening or anything for the matter?
She could no longer think anymore for the pain and the yelling was too much for her to bear and as her fleeting mind scape began to gradually dissipate into nothingness, the saccharine laughter of a young child began to replace the bombardment of blaring yells and pain with soothing, much more pleasant giggles.
The voice was youthful, feminine, and sweet - she remembered how much she loved this voice. And before she finally lost control of the last of her dwindling senses, she could have sworn she felt herself smile as she was met with a pair of enchanting forest green eyes.
"They're here," Kakashi whispered as he led the group of chuunin behind him. "I've gotten a hold of one of the perpetuator's scent and from what I can tell, the guy's no longer but sixty feet away."
His head hung up high in the air as sniffing noises could be heard through the thin cloth of his mask and a kunai had already been instinctively pulled out.
He told himself he was only doing this for the sake of the mission, that if it were not for that missing scroll, he would not have even bat an eyelash at the stoic blonde's disappearance. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was right.
Truth be told, though he would have never admit to it, a diminutive sense of worry had been gnawing at his conscious each passing moment she was gone - he wanted her to be...
"Are you sure?" Obito questioned nervously though a unwavering look of determination had been etched on his face once the group of chuunin had set out to find their missing comrade.
"Positive."
They followed the silver haired prodigy as he crept silently towards what seemed to be the foot of a tree and watched as he promptly began to dust off broken piles of twigs and leaves off the earthen floor.
He patted the ground lightly and a small echo resonated within that very spot, marking it hollow.
"I think we just stumbled across their base," he idly whispered.
"So shall we ready our weapons? Or do you have some sort of plan?" Kurenai queried.
"I don't think it's best for all of us to go in at the same time, we must be as discrete as possible. So I think three is enough, while the other two will stay up here and keep watch."
"Who's going down then?" Obito questioned eagerly.
"I volunteer!" Kurenai whispered hastily as her hand shot up in the air in near light speed.
"Since I'm the best at tracking here, I think that I should be the one to lead the way and find her," Kakashi muttered almost timidly, causing Obito to quirk his brow.
"Why should you go? Sen, Kurenai, hell even Rin are pretty good at tracking too. You don't deserve to go down there, let Sen or Rin do it. It's not like you actually care anyways. I mean, since when did you care about Teresa's well being? I recall you saying how she could, and I quote,'take care of herself.' Am I right?"
"...well, it's different now..."
"How so?" He retorted venomously. A look of seething anger crossed his countenance and somehow, it made Kakashi feel...bad?
"Because now, the mission is at stake and we can't afford to let one scroll get in the hands of the enemy. Teresa is just a means of leading us there..." he tried to justify.
He did not even know what he was saying anymore, for all he knew, empty words were spilling out of his mouth with no conviction or meaning to it whatsoever.
He had tried to detach himself from these burgeoning feelings of...timorousness, of anxiety, he had tried to detach himself from it all. The mission was the most important, it was to be regarded above all else, not for the safety of one's comrades... Not for her...
But why, why did he feel like he was doing all of this, why he was worrying himself to a fright from more than just the mere fact that the mission could be possibly compromised? that maybe, just maybe, the mission was obsolete?
The scrolls... they were more important, surely they were more important. Not comrades. Not her. Not her. Not her. Not her.
Pale, silver eyes kept flashing within in his frenzied thoughts, confusing him all the more and he clutched at the side of his head.
"I can't believe you, you're such a -"
"I'm just trying to help here okay?! I know what I said and I know that you're all angry at me and I know you don't think I care enough to find her but don't you think I'm trying here?! I helped track her down, I took my time, wasted valuable chakra to locate the area! I've been worrying just as much as you, so don't think that, that..."
"You're so full of shit Kakashi. Just an hour ago you were discouraging us to even go out to look for her and now you claim that you care?"
"I -"
"Can you two just shut up and deal with your petty problems later?! Don't forget that we're still on a mission and squabbles like this won't get us anywhere. You two will come down with me and Sen-kun and Rin-chan'll stay up here and keep watch, understood? And I don't want to hear anymore out of the two of you, unless it pertains to the mission, are we clear?" Kurenai admonished as she hit both of the boys on the back of the head.
"Fine."
"Whatever."
"Alright, Kakashi, lead the way. Obito-kun, follow behind me closely and I'll stay in the middle of the formation since the both of you have better offensive attacks than me," the crimson eyed kunoichi urged as she tugged the boy by his goggles and pushed Kakashi along the way, to which he begrudgingly obliged.
Kakashi kneeled to the ground and then proceeded to stab his kunai at the foot hole of the base, twisting it slightly. A soft 'click' could be heard and he gently pried the barrier open, with the twigs snapping all around it and the old wood creaking as it was pulled up from its foundation. Once open, the three chuunin easily slipped in and their shadows had finally disappeared into the clearing.
Not a sound could be heard after that.
The sun was glaring so brightly that she had to squint her eyes and shield her visage in order to see through the sunlight that bathed her skin in golden rays only to be met with the sight of a meadow of... florals?
A plethora of vivid reds, bright oranges, deep purples, and pallid pinks were scattered throughout the vast green fields of grass making it look like some of the most beautiful bouquets she had ever laid her eyes upon.
The smell was even more magnificent than the sight itself as the enticing aroma of lavender, sweet pea, baby's breath, poppies and sunflower's wafted through the warm air and bombarded her nostrils with sweet smells.
Amongst the picturesque field of flowers, she could see a small figure inching closer to her, running, waving jubilantly.
She could hear some indistinguishable yelling as the figure's voice reverberated throughout the seemingly endless fields and she immediately recognized the soft timbre.
She stood stock straight and rigid, silver eyes widening to inhumane extents as the claymore she had now noticed she was grasping this whole time clang to the bed of sweet pea's below her feet.
Could it be?
"Teresa!" She heard the shouts coming closer and she smiled the smile of a warrior, no, a mother who had achieved the near impossible. The sun's rays could never be as blinding as her own smile that very moment.
Her facial muscles pulled so tightly towards her eyes that she thought it would have stayed permanently like that...forever.
"Teresa! Teresa!"
The image of Clare's small, frail body came sprinting towards her and a single tear fell from her eye wondering if it was perhaps real and that this was no mere dream.
The girl was as candidly beautiful as she last saw her with her light brown hair scintillating under the sunlight and her cheeks a rosy pink, the eyes were as enchanting as ever and her little pink gown seemed to have been carefully straightened to a crisp.
Teresa found that her arms had already instinctively reached out towards the girl, but she was so afraid...that maybe, if she touched her, she would be met with nothing but air; if she reached out to hold her, she would disappear in a cloud of nothingness. Her hand flinched slightly. The conflicting thoughts blazed through her mind, however, her arms stood out straight and unwavering.
"Teresa!" Clare cried out as she tackled the blonde to the floor.
The feeling of real warmth, real skin, real hair gathered on her hands as she embraced the small body tightly, a breath of relief escaped her lips as she felt the flowing blood rush under Clare's glowing skin, indicating viable life.
Teresa hugged her tighter as she buried her face in the small child's auburn locks, relishing in the actual feel of touch from the one person she had been dreaming of for so long; her daughter was alive and real - it made her feel even more alive than she ever was as a surge of happiness had overcome her senses.
She pulled back to examine her precious girl, her precious Clare, and she was met with the familiar shade of forest green orbs and the impossibly perfect face of her sweet child - though, those very eyes were now glazed over and her cheeks were stained with tears.
"Now, now. You're still one to cry so easily, like always," Teresa teased as she gently patted the girl's soft tresses.
"I wanted to see you," Clare sobbed into her shoulder.
"Always... I always wanted to see you. I am so sorry for leaving, I am so sorry for dy -"
"But... But... Teresa... I..."
"That's right, I was the one who broke that promise," she cooed softly as she pulled Clare closer. "Sorry... Even though I said that I would always be with you."
"But... If you hadn't met me, then you wouldn't have died Teresa... I-It's because we met Teresa, that you became weaker..."
"No, you're wrong. That's not the case, my darling." She reached out to gently stroke the tears off her face, smiling as she did this. "My time with you was short but... To me, it was far more valuable than all the time that lead up to that... If God exists, then being able to meet you Clare is the only thing that I would give thanks for."
"Teresa..." she choked out and a fresh flow of tears began to stream down Clare's face to the point where she began to whimper and convulse from her labored breaths as she cried and cried.
"What... Are you crying again?" Teresa chuckled lightly. "You've become even more of a crybaby than before, haven't you?"
"Oh, Teresa, I missed you so much! I'm so... I'm so happy you're here now, with me," Clare beamed as she curled up under the crook of Teresa's neck.
The blonde looked down towards her, all she knew was that the world revolved around them and them only, it was just the two of them alone and happy - the smile on Clare's face reassured her that it was all real.
"Clare?"
"Yes, mama?"
"Can you look at me -" the girl's emerald eyes blinked in confusion "- I want to remember this, I want to remember your smile. Smile for me Clare."
The girl's lips tugged wider, all teeth were glimmering in the brightness and it was such a beautiful sight. "Let's stay like this... Forever."
Clare began to giggle as she nestled closer to her mother. "You're so funny Teresa, of course we'll stay like this! You promised me and I promised you, we'd be by each other until the end of time."
"Yeah..."
Indeed both mother and daughter sat together in place for a long while, with Clare nestled into the crook of Teresa's neck and Teresa's arms wrapped protectively over the little girl's small frame. Once in a while, Teresa would play with Clare's hair or Clare would talk about everything and nothing. The blonde did not mind however, she could listen to Clare talk for days, weeks, months, years... forever. She wanted to listen to the light of her life's melodious voice forever, until the end of the end.
For a while the two had just sat there and said nothing, only basking in each other's presence and staring off into the lovely fields of flowers that sprouted from the earthen floor. Clare would pick some up and braid them in Teresa's hair and the mother in turn would identify just exactly what each flower was named and what it represented. Clare would always listen intently to her explanations, never uninterested and always astonished.
She loved the way her daughter did this.
"Now, what's that one?" the brunette questioned, pointing towards a crimson petaled flower.
"Oh this? Why this is a red poppy, it represents commiseration, but can also represent love."
"Really? I like that flower then," she plucked it out from its roots and handed it towards her. "Here, take it. It stands for love, right mama? That means I love you."
Teresa smiled deeply as she clutched the red floret to her heart.
"I love you too Clare. I will always love you."
"Always?"
"Always."
"Will you be there for me always?"
"I -" Teresa paused "- I tried to be."
A look of sadness flashed across the young girl's countenance, and Teresa reached out to cup the side of her face.
"I've been trying for so long to see you, I have tried all I could but it was still not enough. All those years... All those scrolls... All those jutsu that I -" she paused "-I am just so happy to see you here again with me. You don't know how long I've been waiting to see you Clare."
"Jutsu? You tried to find me?"
"Of course I did. I could never live with myself if I didn't have you by my side. I need you. And now that I've found you I-"
"But you'll never find me, Teresa. You will never see me again," Clare replied, her voice seemed to be devoid of any emotion and the words were frighteningly hollow.
"W-What.." she looked up to meet Clare's eyes, but the girl's visage was shadowed and her forest green orbs were gazing intently at her, sending chills down her spine.
"What are you talking about Clare?" She questioned worriedly as her arms loosened from her grasp around the girl's thin frame. She flinched away slightly with wide silver eyes.
"You won't find me Teresa... Not here... Not anymore..."
"Clare... What are you talking about? You're frightening me..."
The ground seemed to quake from underneath her, separating mother and daughter from close proximity as the heavens themselves seemed to be shaded with red death. She frantically searched around them wondering what sort of apparition was to appear so suddenly.
A sense of foreboding alarmed in her heart and her blood seemed to have run cold, goosebumps pricking up from her skin, body now rigid.
"Clare!" She shouted before leaning forward to pull the girl towards her and shield her from whatever was to come, but she found herself unable to move. A pair of lithe, strong arms seemed to have locked onto her waist, but her focus was only on the girl in front of her.
From deep within the cracks, a large pair of humanoid arms emerged and sliced through the air as it grabbed ahold of Clare's small body.
"CLARE!" Teresa screamed as she tried to reach out, but the death grip of the arms tightened around her.
A large stream of tears had found its ways down her eyes as she helplessly reached towards her daughter, trying, trying.
From within the cracks, the being's full body in all its grotesque glory had emerged, revealing the disgusting frame of her most hated enemy. Her body was grossly contorted and what was left of the once human Priscilla was her young face though marred with the ugliness of what was an awakened being. She had that same wickedly malicious smile as she held on tightly to her little girl.
"LET HER GO!" A roar ripped through her throat as she reached out towards the two in vain.
"Teresa!" Clare cried, screamed, as she writhed within the damnable demons grasp.
"Let her go! Let her go!" Teresa cried so viciously as she kicked and screamed, trying to free herself from her clutches, from whatever was holding her down. "Please..." She begged, falling to her knees. "...Please let her go..." She was sobbing uncontrollably now all the while shouting.
"Innards," the thing cooed as she twirled Clare's body around her fingers as if she were examining the girl right that very moment.
"Teresa!" Clare cried in fright.
"Please! Let her go! I'll do anything! Kill me, not her! Please, please...," Teresa burst out in tears.
The thing laughed a disgusting laugh as it licked its lips, with its throat moving up and down like undulating waves.
It leaned forward, not before looking Teresa dead in the eyes, its yellow smile growing wider with anticipation like gilded razors, and sunk its teeth into Clare's shoulder. The girl in turn screamed in pain and Teresa knew that these cries would never leave her.
They would haunt her forever.
"CLARE!" Her voice was raw and hoarse. "LET HER GO! PLEASE, PLEASE LET HER GO!"
She tried with all her strength to free herself once more, but it seemed that the grip tightened even more than she could have imagined. "Let her go... Kill me... Kill me, kill me, kill me... I'll die without her. Kill me..."
Her eyes were closed now and her body was completely numb. She could feel nothing anymore and she dared not peek one eye to see the sight of Clare torn in pieces. The tortured screams was the only thing she could focus on and it gave her the worst pain in her life to hear Clare cry herself hoarse. She couldn't...
The blackness was better than this, no, death was better than hearing her little one's anguished cries.
She could not bear the sight of it anymore, the screams were blaring and the pain that pierced through her chest was growing worse and worse with each breath she struggled to gasp. Teresa was done, she did not want this anymore, she wished she was dead.
Not this... Never this...
"Teresa!" Clare cried over again and again like a mantra through the bloodcurdling screams that ripped through her throat. How could such a lovely voice sound so terrifying now?
"Teresa!" Clare cried once more and the blonde in question found herself choking out the sobs that were erupting from her own throat. She could not find her own voice anymore, she was far too numb trying to repress it all. She wanted to die.
"Teresa!" A new voice appeared as the screams had seemingly disappeared. She was confused now, seeing as the screams and the pain had been lifted off her shoulders, her baby was nowhere in sight. Where was Clare? Where was she? Where was...
The voice called out again. It was low and familiar, belonging to that of a male. Someone that she used to know or perhaps someone she had already knew. A boy?
"Teresa!" He said again. "I've got you, don't worry." She felt the very same pair of arms she had felt earlier tighten around her waist. "Crap, you're bleeding... Just hold on I'll get a first aid kit."
Her eyes slowly blinked open and she was met with a pair of dark grey eyes, almost charcoal-like in appearance. Strong arms enveloped around her waist tightly and she felt as if she were floating. "Let her go..." She mumbled dazedly under her breath as her eyes blinked slowly, trying to absorb the setting before her. "Clare... Please... Oh, please let her go..."
"A-Are you crying Teresa?" She heard him say and she looked up towards his grey eyes now filled with worry.
She could feel him lightly stroking her hair and she wanted so badly to push his hand away, however, she could not find the strength to do so.
The numbness had overcome her entirety and the aftershock of its effects were still wearing over.
"Clare..." She whispered painfully as she searched for any sign of the girl or any sign of that monster. There was no meadow. There were no flowers. There was no Priscilla. There was no Clare.
"Ano, Clare? Who's Clare? Why are you crying Teresa? You were under a genjutsu, they must have -"
"Clare... She's my daughter... Clare... Please let her go... Kill me instead..."
Kakashi's eyes flashed with bewilderment as he clutched tightly on Teresa's small waist. What was she talking about? "Your what? What the hell are you -"
"She's my daughter! Where is she?!" Teresa replied hysterically as she stood up from his hold, finding her strength once more.
Kakashi looked confused and alarmed as he brought his hands up to placate the frantic blonde.
He could see her chest heaving wildly and her fingers twitched as if they ached for something to hold.
But nothing was as jarring as her gaze; her eyes were haunting, frightening from an anger he had never witnessed from her throughout all the years he had knew her.
He never knew she was capable of such a bloodcurdling glare; she was always cool, calm and collected. Never showing emotion and always monotonous like a well oiled machine, a shell incapable of feelings or polysyllabic answers.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about Teresa. The Kumo nin we fought earlier kidnapped you and took the scrolls and we went to go find you after Kurenai-chan realized you were missing. You were under a genjutsu..."
"I-I...what?"
"You were under a genjutsu and -"
Her eyes glazed over with a fury she nor the the boy next to her had never known.
It was all a lie? Everything she had seen... There was no Priscilla, there was no Clare.
Her fists tightened dangerously and she could hear her knuckles popping under her clutch. She was angry from her weakness, moreover, she was angry for her inability to protect Clare, regardless if it were real... Or not...
"Where are the others?" She questioned as she stared intently at the ground beneath her, with no emotion, all monotonous and blank like her habitual self - now this was a sight Kakashi was used to.
However, the implications were much more dire, much more dangerous than the norm.
"Rin and Sen are outside keeping watch, but Obito and Kurenai are fighting off some of the nin we encountered in the back, the ones who had stolen the scrolls from you when they kidnapped you. I managed to incapacitate a few during the fight and slipped off to go find you."
"Obito and Kurenai, are they sufficing?"
"Well, I believe so. Otherwise, I wouldn't have left them back there if I didn't believe them to fare alright."
"Do you have any extra weapons you can spare?"
"Here," he said as he unsheathed her zanbato from his back. "I got this for you. It seems you left it on the campsite."
He had to admit that he was still in a slight shock from the blond's previous odd behavior, crying of all things. He never knew; would have never imagined that her cold silver eyes had the capacity to even shed tears. It was unfathomable.
He would have never thought to find one of the most apathetic, cold-hearted, strongest kunoichi he had ever encountered to actually cry in front of him - the most intimately vulnerable of states one could ever be under.
But here, he found her on the brink of unconsciousness, curled up and crying uncontrollably for... Clare? When he found her, she was a sniveling mess, all taut and shouting for someone.
He tried to hold on to her, tried to grasp around her waist to hold her down from destroying the whole place and making a ruckus, but she was kicking and screaming for "Clare" for him to "let her go" - she was begging him even when she was out of consciousness.
Who was this Clare? and how on earth could Teresa possibly have a daughter? That notion itself was nearly preposterous, especially when taking Teresa's age into consideration.
However, he knew Teresa was one of, if not the most, honest people he had ever met in his life; she had no need to lie, so could that possibly be the truth? It just did not add up.
His eyes darted away from his pondering and back towards Teresa and he watched as she clutched her sword tightly, nodding her head in silent gratitude towards him as she proceeded to flex her sore muscles.
Her face had been dried from the tears she had cried and a frightening look had replaced her once sorrowful countenance."Have you found their proprietor yet?"
"Not yet, but I have a pretty good guess to whom it might be."
"Is it..."
"Tomo Sandayu," he muttered. "I heard the two nin who were watching over you earlier talking about him before I killed them. I believe he's the one who casted the genjutsu and apparently he's still in this building."
Teresa's eyes darkened and a hate she had never felt before began to bubble within her core.
This alarmed Kakashi seeing that the silver haired prodigy had subconsciously stepped back from the seething blonde.
"Teresa?" He reached out towards her. "Are you alright?"
Her skin was cold to the touch and her body was shaking as her long pallid blonde locks obscured her face from his view, he thought she was crying again. "Are you al-"
Her head shot up and her eyes were burning with anger, he studied her beautiful features only to notice how frightening they now were with veins throbbing on her temples and her jaw clicking side to side.
"I'll find him," she whispered venomously before taking off to Kami knows where.
I'll kill him..
Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, I'm getting way too busy and school is getting really hectic for me! And I want to also apologize for how long and drawn out the story's been getting, had I realized it would take so long... Damn, I'm just amazed how hard it is to fit all the things I want to write out and keep it at a steady pace, though I didn't know it would take this long, gomen!
I gotta say, that genjutsu she was under was pretty intense and I was sweating anxiously as I wrote the scene (and I may or may not have borrowed a few lines from the manga with Clare and Teresa's convo - please don't kill me lol!)
And finally, we'll be able to see a nice action-packed fight this next chapter since... yes you guessed it, Sandayu of the Black will finally be making his grand appearance!
I wanted to put a little of Kakashi's perspective into all of this too, if you haven't noticed by now. So, feedback would be great because I want to hear from all of you - is it getting boring? Is it too drawn out? Are you still waiting on Naruto? (but to answer that question, yes he will come soon, I just didn't know that the third Shinobi world war would be so long. You know, stories tend to work out in mysterious ways).
Please keep em' all positive because I must admit, whenever I get a new review, I kind of find myself worrying if it's another slightly negative (in connotation) review. Maybe I'm just a big baby when it comes to constructive criticism, I don't know...
Questions, comments? Tell me what you all think through a review. I love you all and am so grateful that you're continuing to read my story! Ja ne!