Chapter 53
Vacuo
Vacuo, a nation covered in sand and built on the toughest of stones. It was unrivalled in harsh and unforgiving environments. Civility and order was primitive, so to speak, maintained only by the Huntsmen Academy. The official government was little more than a figurehead. There were many things Vacuo was called by its fellow nations. It was barbaric, crude, and ancient.
However the last word anyone would dare use to describe Vacuo, and its people, was weak. They were resourceful and adaptive, tenacious and fearless, indiscriminate to all, and enigmatically intelligent. The environment thinned their numbers, but the numbers that remained were worth many times more than those that left.
Unfortunately, neither Ruby nor Weiss were prepared. They were ill equipped for the trek through the desert. Ruby's mostly black clothing absorbs enough heat that she almost constantly held a water bottle to her mouth. Weiss was getting rashes and sunburnt in multiple places. The two instantly lamented their lack of preparation and knowledge, even more so when they looked Madara.
In contrast, he was in an infinitely better condition. His usual dark gray shirt and pants were switched to a light tan. He wore a thin mask that covered his mouth and nose/ His normally long hair was cut to shoulder-length and kept under a cap. A thin pair of goggles kept the dust and sand out of his eyes, as well as concealing his Sharingan. Save for the Uchiha symbol he had engraved on his sleeves, Ruby and Weiss would have had trouble distinguishing him from other passerbys,
"I didn't think a sandstorm would hit us so early." Ruby muttered, shielding her face from the sand with her own hands. For a moment, her eyes locked onto Madara, more specifically his attire. "Hey, let me have one of those masks."
"Yeah, I'd like one two." Weiss concurred, holding up a darkened glyph to act as an umbrella.
Though not visible, Madara rolled his e
yes as well as scoffing at their pleas. "I only purchased one. Consider it a lesson." he chided,
Weiss glared enviously at Madara, straining dust and sand from her hair. Suddenly, an idea came to her, as did aura through her arms. She created a large glyph in front of her, one as transparent as possible. Aside from the rotating circles that comprised the edges of the construct, she had a mostly-functioning screen shield that managed to protect both her and Ruby. Weiss smiled triumphantly, knowing full well that Madara wouldn't notice.
The three continued to walk along a thin graveled road, nothing but sand and heat to accompany them. Eventually, they managed to overcome a short hill, and their eyes laid upon a large building.
"What is that?" Ruby asked, squinting her eyes. "A house?"
Sharing a wordless nod with one another, the three headed towards the building, knowing not what they would soon find.
Elsewhere
"Alright, alright you can do this." Yang thought, her breathing heavy and hoarse. She inhaled a deep breath before clenching her fist. With the energy she had left, she threw one last punch, only for it to be caught mid-swing.
"Really, you should take a break." Blake said, letting go of Yang's hand.
Yang nodded as she walked towards the front porch of the house. She sat down on the wooden platform, chugging down a water bottle in a single go. Blake was, unsurprisingly, in much better physical condition. It was astonishing to the faunus girl, to watch her partner in action. She should have still been resting in bed, but instead, she was pushing herself as if nothing was wrong.
"How strong is she?" Blake thought, staring at Yang as she tossed the bottle aside. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, better than yesterday at least. Still hurts a little, but it won't keep me down." Yang answered, smiling at Blake wholeheartedly.
"Somehow, that hurts me." Blake mumbled, lazily looking away from Yang. The Blonde patted her friend on the back, laughing at her expense.
"What do you think? I'm getting back to my old self right?" Yang asked.
Blake glanced away uncomfortably, looking as she was shrinking in place. "Well, you're almost there."
Yang's smile seemed to fade away, replaced by a sorrowful grimace. "That's different from your usual pretty face." Yang laughed, wrapping an arm around Blake's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Blake snapped, accidentally pushing Yang away. "Y-Yang, I'm sorry! Are you alright?"
Yang frowned, brushing Blake away as the black haired girl tried to help her sit up. "Y'know Blake. You don't have to keep coddling me. I got enough of that when I was a little kid." She said in a slightly aggravated tone.
"R-right." Blake lowered her head, as if waiting for some kind of punishment.
"Don't be like that. I'm not that angry." Yang rested her chin on her knees, leaning forward as she stared into the forest. "I… I wonder where Ruby is right now. Probably somewhere exciting. I'm feeling pretty jealous actually. I mean, I was the one who wanted to go on adventures, not her."
"Maybe there's something she wants? They're going around the world after all." Blake suggested.
"Yeah well, maybe. That'd make sense, more than him doing it out of the good of his heart." Yang rolled her eyes. "Y'know what, I had an idea. Let's chase after them, get in on the fun. After i'm back in shape of course."
"I… i don't know about that. I don't think it's a good move, to go out looking for them. We don't know where they could be going, and it might be too much for us." Blake answered, squeezing her hands together.
Yang looked as if she was going to laugh. "Too much for who? We've been through a ton, right-"
"For you!" Blake abruptly shouted at Yang. "We barely got out of the disaster at Beacon, and look what happened to you! What would you do if something even worse happened? What if you lose an arm, or a leg, or you get yourself killed? Aren't you scared even a little bit? Have you thought about any of that?" She demanded, her own heart pumping abnormally fast. She couldn't understand why Yang seemed so carefree, or why she was so eager to return to action.
Yang stared at Blake, stunned at the reaction from the normally reserved girl. She could see a small fire behind Blake's yellow eyes, a fire that needed to be calmed down. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, she wasn't that good at calming people down. She didn't have much experience in the field.
"What do I do?" Yang thought, her mind moving at increased speed in search of an answer. She thought back, retracing her memories. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.
Yang raised a single hand towards Blake, flicking the faunus girl in the forehead with just enough force to cause Blake to flinch back. While Yang retracted her hand, Blake recoiled, pressing a finger against the place of contact. Her face had a confused and agitated expression.
"What was that for?!" Blake asked, less upset but more agitated.
"I… needed you to calm down?" Yang said with an uncertain tone.
Blake's eyebrows raised as high as they could go. "How was that supposed to do that?"
"I don't know, it worked on me. I'm not good at talking to people. Madara used to do it to me so i figured it might do something!" Yang exclaimed, clearly flustered at har failed plan.
"He… what?" Blake asked, lowering her arm.
"When we were younger I had a lot of trouble controlling myself, especially when I got haircuts. Madara would sometimes flick my in the head to make sure I didn't break something. I don't really know why, but it just sorta worked." Yang explained, shrugging her shoulders. "But, that's not really important. I just wanted you to calm down so I could explain." She paused, taking a deep breath before she continued. "Blake, of course I know what could happen. I'm not dumb, but i'm not scared. I knew what I signed up for when I decided to enroll at Beacon, like you did."
Of course, she wasn't speaking to Blake's motives for becoming a huntress. The girl had none in particular. Blake determined that she was speaking to her motives for joining the White Fang. after all, they both knew about the violent and occasionally heinous acts she had performed.
"You don't need to keep on worrying about me like this. One day, I know I'll get into trouble I can't get out of. I always knew it, but taking a sword to the chest kinda brought that thought back up. So, instead of just running away and trying to live a boring life, I want to go out and have exciting adventures ." Yang declared, gratifying herself with a fist to the chest. Unfortunately, she hit a rather precarious spot, causing her to cough the air out of her lungs.
Blake considered what Yang had said, watching as her partner tried to catch her breath. "That's just like her. How did I forget?" She thought.
"W-well, anyways." Yang continued, donning her usual smile. "First chance I get, i'm going out there to find them. I'd really like if you went out with me."
To her invitation, Blake could only stare wide-eyed and stiff, much to yang's confusion. She pressed a hand to her face,muffling her own laughter to the best of her ability. Yang could only sit perplexed, waiting for Blake's reply. Soon enough, Blake was able to calm herself, lowering her hand and restoring a calm visage.
"Well I'll consider it, up until you've made a full recovery." She answered,
"Sweet, Ruby'll be happy to see the team back together." Yang remarked.
"I haven't agreed to anything yet." Blake protested, but was summarily ignored as yang stood back up.
"Now, let's get back to training."
Vacuo
Weiss, Ruby, and Madara stood in the doorway that led inside. It was a bar, the kind that Ruby and Weiss had seen in works of fiction. These establishments, when used in movies, were usually almost barbaric. Crowds were obnoxiously loud and prone to starting fights for little to no reason. However, the three saw none of that within this building.
It was a two-story facility, made mostly of wood with several dust lanterns. There were dozens of customers on both floors, sitting at booths and on stools, eating and drinking to the songs that others sang in an almost harmonic fashion. Their faces were relatively well kept, likely thanks to the clothes that protected them. Every single person was armed with weapons, guns, blades, and poles of unique shape and design. Despite this, there was an air of self-control and restraint in even the largest-looking attendees.
Ruby looked as if she was about to spring on one of the customers for their weapons. Weiss shot a demanding look at Ruby, the kind that put even the weapon-maniac on edge. Her enthusiasm vanished almost as soon as it appeared. Madara removed his cap, mask, and goggles, while disabling his Sharingan before proceeding into the main floor. Ruby and Weiss were quick to follow.
The further and deeper the three continued to walk through the establishment, more pairs of eyes began to track them. They were not looks of disgust, nor greed or bloodlust, just a critical curiosity, as if they were assessing their guests.
Unfortunately, Ruby was quick to misread the situation, quietly sliding her hand under cloak and to the scroll containing her weapon. However, nobody was fooled, and soon half of the bar had their hands on their own weapons. Sensing the sudden change, Madara and Weiss alike turned towards Ruby, grabbing her readied arm at the same time with the same disarming expression.
To Weiss' relief, the people they had accidentally put on guard just as quickly lowered theirs. Madara let go of Ruby, leaving her in Weiss' care and walked off. The two watched Madara approach a barista standing behind a counter. Their jaws subsequently dropped as they noticed the disheveled gray hair and bald top, the same hairstyle belonging to the person they knew as Shopkeep.
"What can I get for you?" The old man asked.
"Jacqueline Hail." The Uchiha answered promptly.
The old man stared silently before nodding. "Hm… never heard of that one. Let me check with my guy in the back." he said, vanishing from sight with his usual impossible speed.
"Really, who is that guy?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow at Madara as she took a seat.
"Is he like, your long lost grandpa or something?" Ruby asked, half serious. Weiss mentally facepalmed, but said nothing in reply to her partner's inquiry.
"An acquaintance." Madara answered, catching the two girls by surprise.
No sooner did the man return into their field of view. "Sorry, don't have it." He answered. Of course, he knew that the name wasn't referring to some drink or dish, but a person. Nonetheless, he had no luck in finding the person of Madara's interest.
"You might be able to ask one of my frequenters, They come in almost every day for a drink. They left a while ago, had a quick mission to do apparently, but they'll be back soon."'
"When do you think that'll be?" Ruby asked with a hopeful look.
The old man looked off towards nothing, humming to himself for a moment. "Hm…not sure. I'd say stay an hour or two and you could see'em."
"Is there a place to stay nearby? Like an inn or a motel?" Weiss asked with an even more hopeful expression. Unfortunately, the pitiful laughs and snickers coming from the eavesdroppers around her painted a negative answer.
"Welcome to Vacuo young ladies, get used to camping out." The Old Man smiled sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders before pouring a cup.
Omake Cont'd
Madara and Obito, two ghosts of the Uchiha clan, stood ten meters apart facing one another. Both the masked and unmasked uchihas' Sharingan were active, Obito's single eye, however, was evolved into a Mangekyou Sharingan. With his ability to become intangible, he could turn almost any fight to his advantage regardless of the power difference. More unfortunately, there wasn't a large gap to begin with.
The forest stood silent, as if the trees themselves were watching the two with fervor. Soon enough, the time for battle to resume had come, and the signal was a single leaf that touched the ground between them.
As sudden as a lightning strike, the two clashed at the center of the clearing. The force of their first exchange was like thunder, shaking both the trees and the ground. They traded punches and kicks, each of which could shatter metal. Obito made liberal use of his ability, called Kamui, to escape any difficult position.
As Madara thrusted a fist for Obito's stomach, he phased through the attack and re-solidified behind him. His hands were open, trying to grab his younger senior, but Madara was quick enough to avoid and distance himself. Using water and fire release, he created a large cloud of scalding steam. It wouldn't be an effective weapon, considering his enemy, but the ensuing smoke could at least cloud his opponent's vision for a moment.
Just as Obito emerged from the cloud, he had to quickly evade half a dozen kunai. Madara stood ahead of him, holding many more in each hand. He sprinted, dodging every incoming projectile and managing to get a grip on the smaller Uchiha's neck. With one arm, he lifted Madara off his feet and slammed him into the ground, apparently knocking the boy unconscious.
"That was easy." Obito said, suddenly letting ago and jumping away. No later had his standing space been filled by a plume of flames. He turned to see that the many kunai that had been thrown were all shadow clones in disguise. "Not just one clone, but many. To create this amount, Who is this?" he thought, avoiding the onslaught of attacks.
Channelling chakra into his legs, Obito leapt high above Madara's clones, raining down almost a hundred wooden spears. They managed to hit their targets, and all but one had exploded into smoke.
Obito landed, once again a short distance from Madara. It was rather clear that neither had gained any advances on one another.
"Who are you?" Obito asked, lowering his arms. "You are no ordinary child, even of the Uchiha. What is your name?"
Madara too disarmed, assuming a regular posture, but remained silent. Judging by the clothing he wore and his height, this version of Obito came from a time somewhere between his death and revival. Obito was at least not yet aware of Madara's actions involving him. However, Madara didn't know whether or not Obito knew about the curse on his heart. If he discovered that Madara was still alive, it could jeopardize the Madara of this Obito's timeline.
Suddenly, the two heard two pairs of footsteps coming closer. More importantly, were the two voices that accompanied those footsteps.
"Madara!" the two figures, Yang and Ruby, shouted as they came closer.
Speechlessly, Obito turned his head back to Madara. Madara continued to look towards the approaching girls, but kept the masked Uchiha within his field of view. As the two slowed and stopped, they simultaneously stared at Obito for several seconds.
"Did you find the frisbee yet?" Yang asked, scanning ground and trees around them.
"Umm, w-who's that?" Ruby asked, holding her older sister's arm tightly, trying to use her as a shield.
Suddenly, Obito started to laugh, putting a palm against his mask as if it was his face. His laugh ended with a long sigh as he lowered his hand.
"I'm nobody." Obito answered, turning away from the three. Activating Kamui, his entire body was enveloped by a swirling distortion in space. As if melting away, he vanished from sight, leaving absolutely no trace. Verifying that he had indeed disappeared, Madara lowered his guard and deactivated his Sharingan.
"That… was weird. Where'd he go?" Yang remarked, looking back at Madara. "So did you find the frisbee?"
Madara looked off towards where he saw Obito holding the object. Unfortunately, it was a flaming third of what it was a few minutes ago. Ruby and Yang soon noticed as well, and the ensuing rage and anguish of his little sisters made Madara envious of his junior's ability to literally escape reality.
END
