The Butterfly Effect
"My pack? You make it sound like I'm some kind of leader. I am not a leader. I merely know what I value in this world, and to keep it safe I will weather any hurricane, hunt you down, and kill you. Questions?" Continuation of 'Butterflies'. Character death, Anbu operations, gratuitous violence and some adult situations. May change to M rating.
Arc 3: The heir apparent – Interlude 1 – To be a bellflower
3rd person PoV
8-8
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." Albert Pike
8-8
Kikyo…
That name just keeps running through her head over and over and over again.
Kikyo…
She thought she'd hate it. She thought accepting it made her soft, malleable. And yet, what that name represents for her… doesn't feel soft. It feels solid, and lasting, and… hopeful. So hopeful. And bright, and it… it feels like there's a promise that's been made to her, a promise of a future. A promise of a life worth living.
Kikyo…
Looking at her family, Dosu and Zaku. Looking at the orphans Satsuma-sama asked them to train for the day. Looking at Airi and Raicho, who are here to help out however they can. Looking at the Hayabusa girls that stayed behind, and Ami who's mothering them with all her heart. Looking at the Hayashi women handing Satsuma-sama their salaries, listening to Satsuma-sama assure them that they don't have to. Looking at the Hayashi children –boys and girls alike– being trained by their fathers – or uncles, if their father is away.
Tayuya feels something she never thought she would: belonging. She feels like she belongs here, like people are happy to see her, like she would be missed if she didn't show up. She sees the look of respect in the children's eyes when they look at her – something she did nothing to deserve; not in her opinion.
Kikyo Tayuya…
"Alright, brats, listen up." She calls out, getting everyone's attention instantly. "Aya-dono will be gone for a month, more or less. While she's gone, I'm going to be in charge of your music training. Does everyone have a flute?" Without missing a beat, every child over the age of four whips out a flute. Some are shinobues, some are nokans, some are end-blown flutes. Each flute is a different colour, come are multiple colours.
"Good. I want to give a concert when Aya-dono gets back. And I want to give each of you the chance to perform. But only those who show they can handle it will be asked, understood?" She asks. Excited murmurs erupt from the group, eyes glowing with anticipation. "Settle down. Now, we're going to start working on a song together. I want to see all of you giving it your all. After all, Aya-dono deserves as much, doesn't she?"
There isn't anyone that disagrees with her. In fact, everyone's stoked, wanting to really wow Aya-dono, to show just how much she means to them.
"Dosu, Zaku, where are your flutes?" She demands, glaring dully at her… at her family. Dosu looks at her funny, pointing at the bandages covering his face. "None of that, you. You're a Kikyo. You will learn to play an instrument." Again, he gives her a look, tapping his Resonating Echo Speaker. "You know why you're not a chuunin? Because you're a one-trick pony. Becoming dependent on that thing, just like I've been dependent on my flute? It's going to get you killed. Aya-dono wants us to learn to play at least one musical instrument, to sing, and to use every sound we can make as the basis for our sound release jutsus."
Both Zaku and Dosu look uncomfortable, thinking about how much stronger Kin –who was, at one time, the weakest member of their team– has become. She's slightly younger than them, but she's a jounin. Not just in name either, the girl –the woman– has become a force to be reckoned with.
Nodding solemnly, both boys take out their flutes. Dosu loosens his facial bandages, showing the scorched skin tissue he usually keep hidden. The kids all notice, and one with a pretty nasty burn scar on the side of her face and head, gives him an understanding smile. That throws Dosu for a loop. He's shown his face to two people since the fire that scared him for life… Zaku and Kin. They were the only ones he trusted enough. Somehow, he gets the impression that this group… might just understand.
"Dosu." Satsuma-sama calls him. "After this class, you're coming with me. I want to see if there's anything we can do about that." The feeling… the sense of belonging… it… just keeps growing stronger. And she's seeing a flicker of it in Dosu's eye as well. "And Zaku… those holes in your hands?"
"Part of a jutsu." Zaku explains, balling and opening his fists a few times. They… never really felt like they were part of him. He's used to them, but…
"Body modifications. Too dangerous. Would you consider letting me remove them?" That tosses the three Kikyos for a loop. "Look, it's one thing to train and create jutsus. It's something else entirely to insert foreign objects into your body that could end up poisoning your blood and tissue over time."
Zaku swallows, hard. He never even considered that. It was never explained as a plausible side effect. Then again, considering whose idea it was…
"I…" Zaku doesn't even know what to say. He'd spent years mastering these things. He'd suffered through six months of rehabilitation after they were installed. There isn't much he can say he has, but all of it is directly related to the tubes in his forearms.
"You don't need them, young man. The jutsus you will learn here will more than compensate. The weapons you will be taught to work with will more than compensate. And the other things you will learn will show you that a stupid little trick that that man came up with is little more than a crutch to keep you weak." Satsuma-sama explains seriously.
Again, Zaku opens and balls his fists, feeling the little opening in his palms that should never have been there to begin with. "I…"
"My daughter did not accept you into our clan because she needed those tubes. She accepted you because she sees promise." Satsuma-sama explains. "Surely you don't think that one little trick like that will give you the strength you need to protect our family?"
"What… will I be learning then, hmm?" Zaku asks, looking at the holes in himself.
"You're starting today with proper sound release instruction. Tomorrow I will start you on medical jutsu. The day after will be sealing arts. In the afternoons you will be training under Hayashi Ieyasu, who'll be teaching you kenjutsu and taijutsu. Then, after dinner will be ninjutsu training. You're a wind release user, so I've selected ten simple wind release jutsus for you to practice until our wind release masters return to instruct you properly." Satsuma-sama explains seriously. "That includes Dosu and Tayuya, of course."
For some reason, Zaku finds himself wanting to cry. Not that he will, or that he'll even admit it. But the want is there. He fought tooth and nail to prove himself in Sound, and he thought he did. But the bastard tossed him aside as if he didn't matter. He fought to earn his place here in Konoha, and though he made quite a few friends, none of them tried to make him stronger – they weren't really focused on strength at all, really. Especially that girl at the sushi restaurant. They just liked spending time with him.
And now, a week after being adopted into a noble clan, given a proper family name –and not just one that the bastard came up with– given a brother, and a big sister. Given people that worry for him. Given people that (want to, but also do) take care of him. And now hearing that he's going to be properly trained for the first time in his life…?
"Sounds like I won't need them then, hmm." Zaku says, wondering at the moisture running down his face. He's been unable to lift anything heavy, because the pipes make it impossible to use his muscles properly. He's been forced to use a 'cleansing jutsu' to keep the build-up of mucus and slime under control. And yet… he thought this was the price he needed to pay for strength. "I'm in your hands, Satsuma-sama."
"Now, now. None of that. Call me uncle." The moisture intensifies, but he doesn't understand at all. "That goes for all of you. We may have different family names, but we are one family, one pack."
8-8
Tayuya spends the rest of the day training the kids, training her… little brothers. Then she goes with Zaku and Dosu to their doctor's appointment. She's inside with them, helping Dosu take off all the medical gauze covering his face. She studies how well he hides his shame of how he looks, how he cringes as the burn marks that cover three-quarters of his face are now plainly visible. How his right eye is a prosthetic.
Uncle Satsuma sighs. "This is just sad. These aren't difficult scars to heal. And growing a donor eye from your own DNA isn't too hard either." The silence is deafening. "Look. I'll keep it simple. We have options for you, but none of them are simple or painless. I'll start with the lack of healthy skin."
"Burn victims often lose the ability to regenerate healthy skin, because the cells needed to do so are damaged. I'm going to reintroduce the cells via a method called a skin graft. What that means is, I'm going to take some cells from you, grow it in a tube, and attach it to the parts where there is currently no healthy skin." Uncle explains seriously. "It's time consuming though, so it'll take a few weeks, given how much skin we're talking about. And this doesn't mean you're going to be a heart throb either. Regenerating the tissue beneath the skin starts after the skin graft. And it's going to be painful."
"I can live with that." Dosu offers, not in the least deterred.
"Good. You will always have scarred tissue, meaning that no matter how well the graft and the regeneration takes, there will be clear signs of this burn scar. But it might lessen with time. If this had been done just after the burn, you might not notice there was a burn at all, but with the time that's passed?" Uncle continues seriously. "Still, you won't need to wear a mask if you don't want to. And furthermore, wrapping your face every morning is inefficient. The Sengo Shinobi Outfitter sells shirts with face masks attached. If you were to buy a few dozen of those, it would cover up to your nose. Then you could cover the rest with your headband, much like Kashi-kun. It's not very stylish, but it's far more efficient."
"Thank you."
"And as for your hair." Yes, almost all of Dosu's hair is gone, the hair follicles destroyed from the burn. "There's little I can do about that, I'm afraid."
"That's fine. I'm grateful for anything you can do." Dosu says, obviously meaning it. Uncle nods a few times, thinking.
"Alright. I'll start making arrangements for you. When I have the appointment made, I'll let you know. Now, Zaku, let's see those arms of yours."
"Uncle, if it's alright? I'd like to go get those shirts you were talking about for him." Tayuya offers.
"That's fine. Make sure you go with someone though. We don't like our clansmen travelling anywhere alone. Dosu, why don't you go with her, that way you can pick a style you like? And maybe get a headband with enough fabric to cover the rest?" Uncle offers. Dosu nods, rewrapping his face, possibly for the last time. "Do you have enough money?"
"It's alright, I've got this." Tayuya offers, smiling with a faraway look in her eyes. She's… never had someone so willing to take care of her. Even with little things like making sure she has enough spending money when she's going shopping.
"Alright. Make sure he gets at least twenty of those shirts. And get a few thicker ones for winter as well, the weather's going to start getting cold sooner or later." Uncle offers, writing some notes. "I'm not sure if Aya already arranged a home for you?"
"Of course." Tayuya beams. The three of them have a cosy little home, right across from the hospital.
"Good." Uncle casts a diagnostic jutsu, his hands glowing green as he scans Zaku's forearms. "I thought as much. The sooner we get those tubes out of you, the better. I'll start making arrangements. I want the operation to happen tomorrow at the latest."
"Is… everything alright?" Tayuya asks, concern dripping from her every word. She was just about ready to leave, but… no. Not with wording like that getting tossed around.
"No. Those tubes weren't meant to stay inside him this long. They're rusting, eroding. It wouldn't surprise me if…" He scans further. "How are you even alive?"
"… Uncle?"
"Heavy metal poisoning, probably slowly building up ever since they were inserted. You're muscles have been cramping up on you as well, haven't they." He isn't asking. "Scratch that. Come with me. We're going straight to Akari-san. I want those tubes out, stat."
8-8
An hour and a half later, Akari and Satsuma are closing up the last of the evidence there was an operation to begin with. The metal pips –regular steel– are so badly eroded and rusty that Satsuma quickly decides he can't bare the scent of them. Akari seals them away, just as the last millimetre of wound closes.
The operation no doubt saved the boy's life. Both doctors agree that another month with those things in him… As is, the boy needed a blood transfusion and will need regular detox treatments to get the last of the poisons out of him. Still, Satsuma already called Sakura, and discussed the case with Tsunade-sama. They have something that might do him a world of good, but they both fully agreed that getting the tubes out was top priority.
Satisfied their patient is out of immediate danger, they wheel him into another room at the Namiki Hospital. Satsuma decides to thank Naruto for the suggestion of building this hospital. Other than doubling as a location for all medical classes, it's also staffed with their own people and a proper lab. So no matter the situation, they don't need to bog down Konoha General, or pay the –often exuberant– fees involved.
Once in Zaku's private room, Satsuma sees Tayuya and Dosu anxiously waiting. "The operation was a success. Sakura-san should come by either later today or tomorrow morning to deal with the remaining poison in his system." As if on cue, there's a knock on the door. Haruno Sakura enters. "Ah, I was just talking about you."
"How's he doing?" Sakura asks, already moving to Zaku's bedside.
"The tubes are out. The regeneration process of his muscles is already well underway. He needed a blood transfusion though, and there's still heavy metals and rust in his organs and even his bones." Satsuma explains seriously.
Sakura's hands start glowing green as she scans Zaku to see what she's dealing with. "How is he even still alive?" She asks, clearly worried.
"I wonder the same thing." Satsuma offers with a worn sigh.
"No time to waste, I'm going to need to get some herbs. That poison needs to come out. Stat." Three nods –Sakura, Satsuma and Akari– and Sakura heads out once again. It's not a half hour later –naturally, the Namiki Hospital has a greenhouse where they grow their own medicinal herbs– that Sakura strolls back in with everything she needs.
The pinkette washes her hands carefully, already instructing Satsuma to move the bed away from the wall. Tayuya is ordered to hold the patient's shoulders – even while unconscious, this process is painful.
Once the herbs are properly mixed into the water, Sakura casts a jutsu to stick the water to her hand. Then the water is forcefully shoved into Zaku's chest and extracted from the other side. Even under narcosis, Zaku's face contorts in pain, his body convulsing under the intensity of it.
The water that comes out of the patient… is almost entirely black and reeks of death.
Sakura plops the filthy water into the tub the clean water came from, then she repeats the process with another tub – she'd prepared four, to be safe. The second blob of water is shoved into his abdomen, coming out just as black as the first. The third… is shoved into one ear, and extracted from the other. This, too, comes out black and reeking of death.
Breathing hard from the exertion, Sakura scans her patient again. Head to toe, leaving no stone unturned. "His arms I'm going to have to skip. The wounds just aren't healed enough to not reopen." The last tub's water is shoved into Zaku's right foot, guided up his shin and thigh, through the nether regions, down the other thigh and shin and extracted from the left foot.
The smell almost makes Tayuya gag, and she's seen some shit. "Akari, he needs an antithrombiotic, stat. We got most of it out, but there's no telling if his arms are as bad or worse." With little more than a nod, Akari sees herself out to arrange just that. Antithrombiotics are meant to prevent blood clots from forming. There's a chance that –now that the heavy metals have been extracted from the majority of his body– the remaining concentration with spread and form clots. Blot clots, no matter where they form, can be lethal. Most commonly causing strokes, cerebral haemorrhaging, heart attacks, and clots in muscles leading to muscle death. Not a pretty picture, and most definitely not a chance any of the doctors are willing to take.
"Should we do regular detox jutsus?" Satsuma asks.
"Hnn?" Sakura thinks about that. "That's a good idea. Please arrange for that every twelve hours, but only after the antitrombiotic is administered. He's also going to need to be on the highly nutritious diet. His body was halfway to shutting down, and he'll need to build back up from scratch."
"I thought as much." Satsuma offers, nodding.
"Good call. Getting those tubes out post haste." Sakura offers, smiling – even though she's clearly worn out. Satsuma nods again.
"Thank you for coming so quickly. Please, rest for a bit. I'll arrange a warm meal, and I'll deal with the clean-up."
"Don't forget to make an antidote and give that to him as well. I'd rather be overly cautious."
"Of course."
8-8
When Zaku wakes up the next afternoon, he feels like he was hit by a rampaging bull. Twice. Then sat on by an Akimichi. And chewed on by one of the Inuzuka's ninja hounds. His head is throbbing, his eye's seem to refuse to focus, and his mouth is so dry.
"How much did I drink?" Zaku asks, hating how loud his voice sounds.
"Hey, otouto-kun." Tayuya greets, her voice kept soft to not make things worse. Akari had explained that he'll be 'hung over' for a few days, because of his body trying to re-establish an equilibrium. Basically, his body needs to 'learn' that it's no longer poisoned, because he's gotten so used to it. "It's alright. You might not feel like it, but you're doing extremely well."
"I thought it was just my arms, hmm." Zaku complains, rubbing his forehead to try ease the pain. "What went wrong?"
"What went right, you mean." Tayuya corrects. "The tubes were so rusty that they should have killed you a hundred times over."
"Fuck."
"Agreed." Tayuya sounds amused. "Uncle Satsuma thinks you wouldn't have survived another month if nothing was done."
"Hmm. In other words, snake-shit didn't expect me to live this long." Zaku grinds out, wincing from the pain that causes.
"Well, the good news is, you proved him wrong." Tayuya soothes. "Sakura got most of the poison out, and you're being detoxed every twelve hours to deal with the remainders. Not to mention the antidote you're being given every six hours, just to be sure." Tayuya smiles, grateful that they're sparing no expense for a boy they barely know.
"…Hmm."
"They already ran tests. So long as you eat healthy for the next few months, you'll make a full recovery." She explains, smiling warmly. "In fact, you're going to have to be extra careful from now on. You're baby maker is going to be on overdrive now that you don't have to waste so much on keeping you alive."
"Hmm." He smiles this time. If that's all he has to worry about…?
"Those bags under your eyes are already gone. Your skin is looking a lot healthier as well." Tayuya continues. "And Hana says your scent no longer makes her want to hurl."
"… Yuya-nee?"
"Nn?"
"…thanks."
"Don't thank me, otouto-kun… It's the Namikis you should be thanking." Tayuya counters, sighing. "We owe them everything."
The pair are silent for a while, both thinking about how different their lives suddenly are. "How's Dosu?"
"Sakura's dealing with him. She says she knows a jutsu that will help." Tayuya offers, smiling softly. A week. Well, just over a week, she supposes. Just over a week as members of the Namiki clan, and already they've spared no effort or expense to tend to the three of them.
As if on cue, Dosu walks in wearing a long-sleeved shirt with facemask and his Konoha headband around his neck. He looks… like shit. Only patches of hair, kept in a crewcut. The burn marks still plainly obvious, and his right eye covered with an eyepatch and gauze.
Tayuya narrows her eyes at him, wondering what has him in such a good mood. And seeing how he's grinning from ear to ear, he's OBVIOUSLY in a good mood. "You look happy." Tayuya points out.
"Shouldn't I be?" Dosu asks, the grin obvious in his tone. "Sakura-san says my operation is scheduled in an hour. And… she already has a donor eye."
"You're kidding." Tayuya is moved to tears, wondering why she gets so emotional so easily these days. Still, she shakes it off, not caring for the moment.
"I kid you not." Dosu says, almost glowing from the joy he feels. "She warned me that I'm not going to be my most handsome for at least a year, but…"
"Dude, that's awesome, hmm." Zaku offers, raising his hand as best he can. The two grab each other's thumbs firmly.
"How about you? Swearing off sake for a while?" Dosu teases.
Zaku snorts, wincing at the pain that induces. He doesn't deny it though.
8-8
A week later… Dosu and Zaku check out of the hospital together. Dosu's wearing his facemask, but his head now covered with a thin fuzz of hair. Black hair. And he has two eyebrows again. And two eyes. Matching eyes. At first he was scared he'd get a blue eye, or some shit, but no. Same beady eye as the one he already had. He sees things, depth for example, for the first time in almost a decade.
Even though his new skin is still quite pale, Sakura assured him that he can show it off to the world, so long as he wears sunblock – just to be safe. Sure, he still has to see either Akari or Satsuma once a day every day for the coming months, but… he's too happy to care. He doesn't even care that the burn marks are still all too obvious. He's a shinobi, this just shows what he has survived!
The point is: he's showing SKIN!
Zaku isn't any better at hiding a goofy grin. He hasn't felt this good in years! The bags under his eyes are completely gone, he's no longer deathly pale –something he's still getting used to, to be honest– and he's a ball of energy!
And the best part? No more weird holes in his hands and forearms!
The first thing the brothers do –and they've been calling each other that ever since they became Kikyos– is head straight for uncle Satsuma. As promised, the man has a small pile of jutsu scrolls for them. Elemental scrolls, Namiki hidden scrolls, sound release scrolls, kenjutsu style scrolls and two Namiki taijutsu scrolls – Muay Thai and Capoeira. The brothers are so excited that they body flicker to the Genin Dojo, and start training immediately!
They're still at it twelve hours later, not even noticing they missed two meals.
Tayuya finds them, sweating up a storm and looking worse for wear. But still grinning like idiots. She sighs, annoyed with them. "Hey, fuckface!" She instantly regrets shouting, seeing the two of them wince. "Heightened sense of hearing?" She mutters, wondering about that. "What scrolls have you two been working with?"
"Namiki scrolls." Zaku offers, grinning once again. "Smell, hearing, sight, night vision. Uncle isn't being stingy at all!" He winces from the sound of his voice. "Only problem is, once you get the hearing one down… it doesn't wear off. I'm still not used to it."
"Smell either." Dosu offers. "I can smell you cream your skin, Yuya-nee."
Tayuya whistles, obviously impressed. "Let me see those." She forgets that she came looking for them because they skipped two meals, when Zaku's supposed to be eating super healthy, but… training scrolls! Come on! You can't expect her to not be a little curious!
"Oh crap." Zaku notices just how dark it's gotten. "Bro, we haven't eaten since breakfast, hmm."
"I guess we're eating out tonight." Dosu doesn't seem to care. He's too happy to care.
"Hnn? Oh, uh… yeah. That's why I came out here. I made a reservation for three at an Akimichi restaurant. Uncle says it's going to have only the most nutritious foods on the menu, so Zaku-kun should be fine… and I can't believe this jutsu is so simple… I mean… wow. That I never thought of this."
"By the way, bro?" Zaku looks to Dosu. "Why are you wearing your headband like that, hmm?"
"It's a Namiki thing. Everyone wears it like this." Dosu offers, shrugging. Zaku and Tayuya blink. Yeah, every Namiki clansman does…
With a shrug, the last two Kikyos tie their headbands around their neck like a choker. "Come on. Food's a waiting." Tayuya offers. The brothers gather their scrolls, sealing them all away for later.
8-8
End Interlude 1
8-8
A/N: Well, since no one had any suggestions, I picked the Kikyos. There's going to be another interlude in a few chapters, I'm still undecided who'll be the focal point. Maybe you guys will tell me this time, if not, I'll just pick someone I feel like writing about ^_^
