Chapter 19 – One-Man Séance
POV: Sasuke
The sage burned strong in my nostrils as I worked, quickly and quietly preparing one of the small gypsy sacrificial fires in a small container on a small desk table. It was small, perhaps almost too small, for what I planned to do that night. It had been almost two weeks…or maybe it had been, I didn't know…since Danika's death and the revelation of how the Hidden Leaf Village ruined the life of not only myself…but my brother as well.
Much to my relief, I found that training for the big match against Gaara to be something to take my mind off of my cousin's sacrifice…but that was about all the relief I was getting. Almost overnight, the village I had served for years…suddenly turned into a village full of strangers. Everything everyone said was something I didn't trust completely…or at all. For the first time in my years…I went from hating Itatchi…to actually missing him, and hating the village officials that completely ruined any chance of him having a good life whatsoever. I wanted revenge…not just for him, but for Danika-chan. They…they would have laid down their lives for the Village, one actually doing just that…and their sacrifices were nothing more than trifling's to them.
They dishonored my family's blood and name…and one day…they would have to pay for that! But…in the meantime…I would have to continue on training, for Danika's sake.
Meanwhile…I had been spending a lot of time with Hanashida, Danika and Tahana's mom. I wasn't sure exactly what I thought with Hanashida going on to become a genin because of her long history of health issues…but this was her way of grieving, and I respected that. I could have gone into my shell, and I did in a way…but I knew I wasn't alone in this, and I didn't have the power to do what I needed.
So…for now, anyway…I would care for the others that were grieving…and when the time was right…then I would strike…but not sooner.
"Training going well?" Hanashida asked me two days ago.
"Yeah…as well as it can be, under the circumstances," I replied. "Kakashi and I plan to head back to the mountains here at the end of the week…gonna be at it for the next two, maybe three, all the way to the finals," I replied. "You?"
"Well…still can't do math to save my ass, still getting all them damn dates mixed up…hell, I barely remembered my tutoring session with Kakashi last night, and he still showed up fifteen minutes late!"
I laughed, a rare thing these days. "You'd probably lose your head if it wasn't screwed on, wouldn't you, Mama Hanashida?"
She chuckled. "Yeah. Here, let me get ya some cookies…dummies gave me so many of the dang things from after the funeral I can't eat them all…and now that I'm trying to eat a little better, they all look like clutter…in other words, it doesn't help my anxiety one damn bit."
"Oh, I know where to send 'em, Mama Hanashida," I replied, grabbing three big boxes off the counter. "Naruto and Choji can help."
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun. You're a good man, son."
I stopped cold. "Hanashida…"
The older woman paused. "Son," she said. "You're just as much my baby as Danika and Tahana, and it don't matter that Danika ain't mine by blood. I made Mikoto promise to take care of the girls if I died before they could grow up…and she accepted so long as I would have taken care of you boys if anything happened to her. When your mama died, who was the first one at the hospital with you when you woke up?"
"That was you, Mama…and I didn't forget that."
She nodded. "There's a lot of dumb-ass sickos out there…they may say they've got power for ya…but they ain't gonna do nothing but take everything from ya and leave ya with a pile of shit. I know this place ain't been too much better…" she trailed off. "I know this Village can't be too much better…and I ain't askin' you to stay…all I'm saying is…don't forget the way home, and don't forget that you're a good man. Even if you never get your brother back, or don't restore the Uchiha Clan…don't let this world destroy the man you are."
I stared at her, setting the containers down at the table. "Mama…I thank you for always being honest and caring for me…I don't think you're gonna stay here either."
"Hell no I ain't!" she protested. "I got an ex-husband who's now in jail, and I gotta clean up both his shit and mine. The divorce…I gave my husband and his team a week to say how they want to proceed. If they don't answer, this thing ends…and he's going to be paying for Dani's funeral expenses."
"Didn't you want to sue him for emotional distress and possible assault?"
"I did when he tried to take out her Sharingan and won…now that she's passed, the money passes to a trust for Tahana and her heirs…but enough of that. If I can get this divorce settled, I want to get my father out of the village septic."
I stared at her. "What?"
She groaned. "When Daddy died…he was coming home from building a baby crib for one of the neighbors…and he was standing right where one of the Nine-Tails's tails struck the ground. He was thrown some sixty feet into the air…and crashed into a hole some forty feet deep, where he died of his asthma attack under a massive pile of rubble."
"Why didn't he die on contact?"
"He landed in a muddy pool of dirty septic and human waste…but it was gonna take a hell of a lot more than a fall like that to kill my papa. Papa…nobody really heard his dying words…but he was growling and roaring as much as he could at that thing. But…when they went to try and get his body out of the hole…the water from that damned septic had softened up the ground so much he sank another twenty feet into the muck. They…they supposedly said couldn't get him out of there without causing a major water disruption, so what they went and did was rebuilt the septic lines over his body – and I was pissed."
"So that's why there was that huge dispute over water lines?" I said.
"He wanted to be cremated and scattered over the land, not buried down in a pile of human shit!" Hanashida yelled. "That's worse than burying him in the mines…and they didn't even mark where he died! I don't hate Naruto, and I don't hate the Nine-Tails for killing my daddy…but I hate the Hidden Leaf FOR NOT RESPECTING MY DADDY ENOUGH TO DIG HIM UP OUT OF THAT HOLE, AND CARE FOR HIM PROPER! But I guess I'm too dumb and stupid to expect anything less out of a village that doesn't even bother to figure out who took my baby away from me"
I stared at her, suddenly terrified. "Mama…why didn't you speak up?"
"I had babies to feed – that's why!" she cried again, tears now coming down her cheeks. "Twelve years…he's probably all bones now. They told me they would care for him…oh, listen to this mad old woman. I can't do nothin' bout it now."
"Mama…you called me your son," I said, setting her down at the kitchen table despite my better judgment. "That means we're family…although there's no blood between us. I'll talk to the Hokage before I leave town…see if I can't get something done."
"You damn sure better hope so, son…thinkin' 'bout all this shit's pissin' me off," she said, wiping away the tears. "Speaking of shit pissing me off…I have something else from my daughter's room I'd like you to get rid of."
"You're cleaning her room out already?"
"I plan to move out of the Village proper, get out of this house at least," she said. "I'll still be a Leaf ninja…but I can't really live here any more. Too many ghosts…too much space…and Danika's room will have to be cleaned out regardless. Can ya wait here for me?"
"Sure."
As I sat in the kitchen, thinking of what I had heard…my heart honestly sank, and I could feel tears in my eyes. Were the ordinary citizens of the Hidden Leaf…little more than pawns, to be used and disposed at a whim? I didn't know much about Hanashida's father…but he seemed like a stubborn, belligerent good-old-boy who grew a good-sized garden back in the day. The garden was now gone, but it had been said he gifted his excess produce, flowers, and tiny plants to places like the orphanage and the old-folks home. He was notorious for his complete lack of teeth, a concealed but dangerous temper, and a bitter refusal to wear dentures, even in the presence of dignitaries.
There was one story my father told about "Old Man Hyana," as he was known, involving potatoes and his bad temper. When my father was a young man, some of his friends had concocted an plot to dig up all of his potatoes that summer, without giving him the produce. My father warned the old man, dressed in an open blue jacket and work pants, of what was coming, knowing he and his kids would go hungry without the produce. Hyana had sat very still for a few minutes, then got up, going to his window and grabbing a few small potted tomato plants off the sill.
"Ya take 'dese home, boy, and take real good care of 'em, you hear? I can't give ya no money…gotta buy shoes…so ya take some o' mah cherry tomatas."
"Sir…thank you…but what will you do?"
"You ain' gotta worry 'bout nuthin', son," he said, "You jes take 'dem home, and raise 'em good…I'll take care o' 'dem."
Two days later, as my father was going to buy some potting soil for his new plants…he found out what Hyana would do. As he was leaving, a cry arose in the public square…as all of his friends stood together, all bound and gagged, in front of a small table. The Hokage stood behind the old man, as did his wife and kids…but oddly enough, he did not address the man, or even make a move to stop him.
In fact…no one did. Despite the shocked looks of the assembled crowd…they all stood silent in front of the toothless, angry man, whose face said it all. Even Orochimaru, it was said, was there…but he didn't even lift a finger in the face of the situation. A sharp butcher knife sat on the table, alongside a small pot. Without even saying a word, he grabbed one of his childhood friend's arms and laid it across the pot…and it was clear what was about to happen.
No one spoke. No one moved. No one even breathed. This, at the time, forty-something year old man…a man with no true education to his name, called a "dumb coal miner" over half his life…was about to give the entire Hidden Leaf a lesson about why not to mess with the food on his children's plates. Every single eye was on that man in dirty clothes, a blade now in his hand, utterly refusing to stop him.
And then…for some reason…he laid the blade aside and walked away, the crowd dispersing in confusion soon after. The kids involved were still given light punishments…but that one act cemented the name of "Old Man Hyana." When asked about it, he reportedly said he relented because "nobody was a-gonna stop me, not even 'da Kage…dat scared me."
Suddenly, Hanashida appeared, a black scrapbook in her hands – a funeral scrapbook, Danika had called it. I had remembered seeing this before, in the days leading up to Danika's grandmother Soria's death – she had made it to preserve her memories of her beloved grandmother before her death, so she would "remember her as she was in life." The old woman, with long silver hair and a heavily lined face, was standing next to a very young Danika, the pair in blue kimonos. They smiled, their joy etched on their faces – a far cry from the Danika I remembered in recent days. "This…I never liked that old hag…she tried to put you two in an arranged marriage behind my back. Funny thing is, Mikoto wanted to go along with it!"
I laughed again. "She was a sucker for happy endings…and Mikoto wanted to wait until we were both fifteen to do it, so that's why she was behind it."
"Well…get this out of my house, will ya?"
…
I did as she asked…and I quickly went to the Hokage over the matter of Hanashida's father's body. He gave me a lame excuse that he would investigate the matter after the Chunin Exams…but I knew that was his quick answer for "no."
The funeral scrapbook, however…THAT was interesting stuff, let me tell you. Inside, instead of finding photographed memories…was a literal encyclopedia of ancient Nasakura clan abilities, teachings, and the "Sacred Arts," a series of jutsu Danika had perfect mastery over – I had seen her use it at ten years old to heal six badly injured people with just one song. Page after page in the ratty old book was full of information…information I knew I could use. If I could use her secrets to access ancient jutsu and secrets…what else could I do?
The last page…was a step-by-step diagram on how to conduct a proper séance – I figured she learned it from Nerika. As I studied the page…the idea of contacting my parents for guidance got the better of me.
So now, in the dead of the night, I sat before a candle all alone, the scent of sage only beginning to fade. "Spirits of those gone on before me, I call to you tonight," I said softly, running the checklist over again in my mind. "I am a soul tossed about on life's angry seas…and I have lost my compass. Please…I know I truly have nothing to give you…but I need you. Guide me, that I may not fall to doom by my own machinations…and find a new path in my life."
There was silence for a minute…and then, the temperature in that room took an absolute nosedive. It took everything I had not to start shivering as a ghostly mist filled the room, splitting into seven white pieces and taking the shape of seven different people: Soria, my mother and father, the First Hokage, a man who looked like one of Danika's uncles, Shusi Uchiha…and none other than a red-eyed Teroka Hyana. One look at him…and the other spirits drew toward me, seemingly afraid of the ghost.
"I want revenge," he growled. "They left me in their filth…and I want payback."
"Teroka-sempai," I replied, "I understand you want revenge for how the village treated your-"
"Depart this place, spirit of rage!" Soria demanded. "You are not numbered among the dead any more than you are among the living! Leave this place, you wicked fiend, and leave this soul alone!"
The red-eyed man retreated, but did not leave. I knew in the back of my mind why he was there – he, like me, wanted revenge…and it scarcely mattered how he got it. "Soria…yes, I have not died. My soul has remained with my bones these last twelve years, fusing with the filth, water, muck and mud. Soon, when the evil snake returns…I shall destroy him for his wanton destruction of the Village…and then I shall bury the leaders of this place in the filth they left me in, as punishment for their abandonment of both me…and the little grandchildren I loved more than life itself!"
I knew who he meant. "Sasuke…Orochimaru marked you with his curse, but his lure of power is nothing but a trap," my father said. "Wait in the Village…continue on with your life…and wait for your brother. For now…we have many secrets to impart to you..."
"Indeed, we do…for in a few years time…you shall face the One-Winged Angel known as Sephiroth, the man whom has taken your place as Danika's betrothed. He shall seek to establish this village as the seat of his cosmic kingdom…and not even the mightiest of this village…not even Madara Uchiha…will be able to stop him. I knew he would come…so I arranged a marriage to save Danika from falling to his wiles…but I failed."
"Soria…there was nothing you could have done." I said softly. "I wasn't good enough for your granddaughter, not in that state."
"You must stay quiet about this…you musn't tell a soul." The First Hokage said. "You must follow us if you expect to survive this final battle…and save the cosmos from enslavement to the deity that guides the Angel."
"I promise you I won't."
