Chapter 21 – Shadows Close In

POV: Danika

Kakariko Village

Fourteen Days to Invasion

I ate my breakfast with the others, feeling rather dirty over my night with Sephiroth, regretting the fact I didn't let him take my virginity. It would have only been a moment…one blissful moment of pleasure…so why did I deny myself when I knew that it would probably be the last chance I got before I was dating the Grim Reaper?

"Danika?" Talim asked as I finished my meal. "Are you okay?"

"Talim…I couldn't find okay if someone circled it on a map at this point. That answer your question?"

She looked at me, knowing things were not right. "Can…we talk about it?"

"Why not let her spill the beans, Priestess?" Soren asked slyly, seeming to have at least an idea of what occurred. "I know Sephiroth was out last night…"

"Soren…don't be so harsh with her…she's had things hard enough," Sephiroth chided dully. "Let her have her fun while she can…because it's only about to get a hell of a lot worse."

Soren shut up immediately, but Talim and I left the table and went to our shared bedroom. "Danika…do you think I was taking Sephiroth away from you or something?"

"No…I'm just having a very hard time dealing with my feelings at the moment," I admitted. "Yeah, Seph and I did some…questionable sexual things…last night…but he didn't penetrate me, so nothing was consummated. I'm still a virgin-"

"What…what was it like? Was it fun?"

I stared at the fifteen-year-old. "You're not…mad?"

"No! I want to have someone touch me like that, too!"

I put my finger to her mouth. "Be careful, Talim…I know you're a nice girl, and you mean well…but there are guys out there I wouldn't broadcast that stuff in front of. Pot calling the kettle black, I know…but I don't trust the Hylians as a whole, especially not as far as that stuff goes. My family…has a nasty history…and I don't want you to get things you don't want."

"I know, and I thank you for your honesty…but I want to be loved," she said. "Sex…and sexuality…is handled very differently where I am from. Most of my people are known to engage in having more than one wife, and women are allowed to freely participate in sex. However, as the last of the Babylan, I was told I needed to wait until the wind called a lover to me and I married…and I believe it has."

"Soren?"

"Yes…but…I feel a great darkness around him, a deep sorrow, emphasized by the strange red mark on his forehead. Did you see it?"

"Yeah…but I didn't want to make a big deal about it. If there was some kind of serious problem that wouldn't allow him to fight, I figured he would have come to us last night and talked to us."

"And that's what I plan to do, Danika," Soren said, popping up and scaring us both. Talim yelped, jumping into my arms. "Come here, my dear…what did you call yourself again? I don't think I heard it right."

"Babylan…but you can call me Wind Priestess. It means the same thing."

"Soren…don't you think you're coming on a bit strong?" I said. "I mean, I get it, you seem like you're a bit of a newbie, and so are we, but-"

"You're right, I am largely new to this," Soren admitted, blushing ever so slightly. "However…Talim, you excite me, more than any woman I've ever seen. You seem…exotic. New…and you smell like…cinnamon, vanilla, and the sun all mixed together."

"I enjoy your compliments, Soren," Talim said, her eyebrows rising. "However…when all the newness fades…and my scent changes…will you still adore me as you do now?"

"Damn," I thought. "For being a newbie, she knows how to hold cards."

Sephiroth popped his head, chuckling ever so slightly. "Is this our meeting, Soren? If it is…I'd say you're fishing for girls."

Soren's blush covered his face. "Come on…let's go."

POV: Sasuke Uchiha

"My daddy…he ain't dead?" Hanashida asked me.

"It's not that, exactly," I said. Knowing that I had to go to the mountains in just a short time, I knew I needed to talk to Hanashida. If Orochimaru was coming (as I believed he was, he was far from subtle), and her dad's soul was stuck in limbo…I needed to do something to ensure we didn't dig more unnecessary graves.

Danika's grave was more than enough.

"He's dead - he has no true physical body, let that be clear - but his soul has not passed on. His soul in the process of building a new container for itself in that septic tank area…and he's pretty close to being done. He wants revenge on everyone in the Leaf, Mama…and if what I've heard is any indication…he will be heartless when he gets it."

"Oh, f-ing hell," she said, shaking as she spoke. "I need to talk to the Hokage, then…if he gained the Factor…Sasuke…what color were Daddy's eyes when you saw him?"

"Red…but what's that-"

Mama slammed her open palm into the table. "Damn, damn, damn…Sasuke, you'd better train your ass off for this Chunin Exam…or else, you're f-ed."

"What do you mean?"

Mama groaned. "My family…the Hyanas…there's a reason they were in those mines for so damn long…and it wasn't voluntary. Has my daughter told you she's technically immortal?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well…every single true Hyana (full, half, and even quarter-blooded Hyana) is technically immortal. Tahana's manifests differently, allowing her to permanently maintain a physical body, as it is impacted by the power she got from her dad. However…for us Hyanas…its different. See…our souls don't truly pass on when our bodies die. Our bodies will collapse…and we die like normal people…but our souls linger on…never to pass to the next life. You may call it a Kekkai Genkai…I call it our curse."

"How…did that happen?"

"The story apparently goes that the first Hyana…was a very poor, sick man named Lazarai, a man who begged in the Land of Earth. He was sick all his life…and in a world that favored riches and power, he was reviled and hated. The only friend he had in life…was a small dog. His dog watched over him…and Lazarai fed him from the scraps. One day, though…a rich man spat on him, and stabbed the dog with a kunai knife through the heart, killing him and walking away. Lazarai…he cried all night, cradling the dog in his old, worn out arms. As the dawn broke, a man – probably some kind of demon - approached Lazari…and made him a deal. In exchange for the souls of him and all his bloodline, he would not only be given the ability to avenge his dog, but an eternal fountain of power."

"This…Factor?"

"The Rage Factor," Mama Hanashida replied. "An endless fountain of power granted from rage. Unlike the Eight Gates, a person can't die from using it…but if overused, a person can lose themselves to madness. The old man…he rose up off the streets, killed the rich man, and shared all his wealth with all the people the rich man wronged…thus becoming a hero in the Land of Earth."

"But you said your family were forced into the mines."

"They were-"

Kakashi stood in the door. "Sasuke, its time."

"Kakashi…we may want to get the Chunin Exams scrapped. The Hidden Leaf…is in trouble. Big, big trouble."

(Brief Time Skip of Two Weeks to keep Timelines the Same)

Two Weeks Later in the Hidden Leaf

POV: Hanashida

"Hanashida…you don't need to worry yourself," The Third Hokage told me, sitting across the desk from me. "We know that your father's lack of burial is totally inappropriate…and the Anbu is keeping track of Orochimaru. Our ninja are ready."

I stared at him, tired of arguing with a man who had his head so far up his ass he sniffed his own farts. "All right…but I ain't taking any responsibility for any blood that gets spilled. That's on you. All I know is that my daughter died to save people…and I'll be damned if I permit what she did to die in vain."

"Your daughter led to a massive security breach," the Hokage said matter-of-factly. "She should have never touched that scroll."

I stared at him. "How so?"

"Itatchi made a deal to protect Sasuke in exchange for the protection of valuable intelligence," the Hokage said. "About ten days ago, Itatchi amended the deal…and then broke it…in the name of his student, Danika. Your daughter's actions have put the Hidden Leaf in danger…already, dangerous secrets are being exposed. Lives will be lost."

I paused. "Shall I play a song for you on the world's smallest violin?"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you brought all that shit on yourselves…and I have lost all sympathy for you, Lord Hokage," I said. "You've spent so much time lying to everyone and their mother that something like this was to be expected. As for Itatchi…good on him. I'm still mad at him…but I think he's overdue for a box of cookies. I might make him some next time he's in town…if he's willing to dig my papa out of the muck."

"He's an S-class criminal!" The Hokage yelled.

"Because you made him that way."

Apologies for the time-skip…I am trying to keep my timelines running at about the same pace. I'm just trying to cut out a lot of filler.