Well, now that the stage is set... kind of hastily, but don't worry. Also... you might want to put on a tinfoil hat before spelunking in any holes you find, and be sure to tie off to something solid. All rabbit holes are pretty much interconnected, and at the bottom is something of an abyss you don't just want to tumble straight into without any kind of grasp on reality. There are unsavory sorts who like to peddle nonsense to the bewildered. The dragon of the abyss devours the soul through the mind.

So... Don't Lose Your Way... as the song goes.

19: Anthropic

[ v=lzU26jUnE7k ]

Kabuto gasped against the beating rays of the sun as he heaved the mound of soggy bodies up another length toward... what was apparently a false summit. "You... kids... are going to be the death of me." His muscles tingled... almost hurt for joy as he took a seat next to the pile of Sasuke, Homura, and Naruto. It was a sight to behold. Sasuke nearly drowned trying to save an unconscious Naruto and, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of, Naruto had fished Homura out and clung to her. For reasons he would ponder, later, Kabuto had seen fit to rescue the whole herd from the rapids after everything exploded and trees came out of nowhere to begin eating things. Orochimaru was late for the party only he could enjoy. Had Homura told him the … apparently important details … He would have been staunchly against all of this. There again, most normal people were against it without knowing anything, so perhaps there was something to be said for that.

He drank some water from his container before focusing in on his edo summons. He was near his limit for maintaining them and had them dispersed for reconnaissance. To say the feedback from Kaguya's awakening made things chaotic at the moment was an understatement. Maintaining order for the first several hours took everything he had, since most began wanting to do their own thing the moment trees started sprouting out of barren wasteland and lush forest alike. It was certainly understandable, but times like this called for order and discipline. Well, honestly, times were unprecedented so his guess was just that - a guess - but it seemed sensible.

Things back on the island of the Uzumaki had certainly gotten interesting - what with the giant fucking tree that grew up in the middle of it and the incomprehensibly large metal ship floating in the sky above it. Clearly, it was far more technologically advanced than anything Kabuto would likely recognize beyond raw theory. There were reports of other large ships in the sky and of what was possibly weapons fire exchanged among them. For the time being, however, the one over the tree had simply been holding fast and a number of projectiles hurled its way would slam into some invisible barrier before ever reaching near the island. The whole situation was … something Kabuto would have loved to sit down and postulate about were it a story in a book. Were they from other planets? Were they from largely unknown continents elsewhere on the planet? Dimensional travelers? Why was the one ship able to hold off against what would presumably be entire fleets? Was it alone? What were they after - Kaguya? The tree? Each other? However, this was not merely a book, but an unfolding reality and Kabuto had no idea what they were here for, or what, if anything, could be done about them. If they wanted to round everyone up and cook a meal with them, well, Kabuto may not even be able to understand he's being prepared for a meal before already consumed.

And speaking of the incomprehensible... Kaguya had somewhat rebuilt the mountain her awakening had destroyed. The way in which she could just... do things... was terrifyingly fascinating. It didn't appear to involve ninjutsu. When she wanted to prod something around, it got prodded around by an invisible hand. When she wanted fire, there was fire. When she wanted lightning, there was lightning. There did appear to be some limitations, or at least things that were not as simple - but he would look more into that, later.

"Well... I suppose with Danzo, Itachi, and Orochimaru gone, I'm the only one left from the mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki." He laughed. "I caught the ring-leader, so I guess it's time to return and debrief the Hokage on the mission so secret no one told her about it. … Holy hell, what a time to be alive."

[ v=jKk8xsaPx7k ]

"Hinata." The voice called. Noisy thing. "Hinata." It called, again. The noise seemed familiar, like it should prompt her to do something. "Hinata." That noise was her! She was Hinata! Now why would someone be doing that? - AHAH! - There was another person making that noise - a rude person who makes noise. "Hinata!" Her mind took over the situation. "I'm" she pulled the covers around her head and rolled "I'm getting up!" Just... just a few more minutes with the plush warmth and caress of the covers. It was... so different from that dream.

"I'm not leaving until I see both of your feet on the floor." Suzaku stood in the doorway. "You'll go right back to sleep the moment I leave."

Hinata groaned. Why couldn't she take five minutes to spend a few more hours cuddling with the blankets? Time could work like that, couldn't it? And as tired as she felt, what was the point in going to school - what would she learn? "I'm... up." She sat up and twisted into a series of stretches. She blinked against the ceiling light and stood under the piercing gaze of her mother. She really disliked lights from the center of the ceiling - always had. Light should come from the walls or the side of a room. There was just something glaringly unnatural about ceiling lights. Especially before sun-up.

"Is waking up really so bad?" Hinata's mother gave an exaggerated expression. "I think you'll like what's for breakfast if you can get down there before Hanabi eats it all."

Hinata gave a yawn before stumbling through the doorway. "Thankyou for fixing it." Her feet tingled at the edge of the steps as she made her way downstairs. For some reason, they always liked to think she was standing on the edge of the world when she first woke up. Hanabi sat at the table, a giant grin plastered across her face as she shoveled liquid sugar and fruit topped pancakes into her mouth. The kid was an eating machine and Hinata was certain her sister was some kind of escaped science experiment with a portal to another dimension embedded in her stomach. Perhaps the Department of Energy would be interested in information leading to the return of their missing project? There was a TV series about something like that, so it had to be true enough to need to make people think it was all just Hollywood imagination.

Something in Hinata's mind revolted. Her sister was as happy as a lark at the moment, and here she was trying to sell her back to the government. She really did wake up on the wrong side of the bed, this morning. Hinata gave a smile toward Hanabi - "If you eat too much sugar, you'll melt in the rain."

"That doesn't make any sense." Hanabi twirled her finger. "I'll just be so sweet all the guys will want me."

"You could always just catch them in your hair." Hinata pointed to the ends of her sister's hair streaking through the syrup in the plate.

"Ah, damn it!" Hanabi pulled her hair out of the syrup and moved to wash in the sink. "I don't understand how you keep your hair out of things."

"Dark, forbidden magic of the druids?" Hinata shrugged. It was true that she did seem to keep her hair out of messes other girls had trouble with, for some reason. It was, also true that Hinata didn't understand why it was other people had trouble with it. It was like everyone else held some kind of ditzy character quirk to make a bland, normal person seem exceptional by comparison.

"I knew your constant commotions at night were sacrificial rituals!" Hanabi struck a finger with a spray of water.

"Just remember to dance clockwise while doing it. If you go counter-clockwise it has the opposite effect." The two shared a laugh. Was it … really just yesterday morning the two had a laugh with each other, like this?

[ v=UUg6CDua_zk ]

For the Hokage, times could not be more cursedly interesting than they currently were. As surely as she thought that, however, the universe would conjure something new up to prove that it most certainly could get even more interesting. The Kage summit ceased being a coalition headquarters as it rapidly devolved into being on the edge of a sort of territory Kaguya was setting up. The Hidden Tides island was selected as a more secure location and also seemed to be among the more likely locations to hold desperately needed answers. The magical floating ship parked above the tree also seemed to be protecting the area from the more hostile foreign machines in the sky - so provided their benevolence held, it made sense to relocate joint operations headquarters to the island and pray for the best.

A part of the, apparently numerous, tunnels on the island of the Uzumaki had been sealed off to work as a sort of prison system. A prison system which Tsunade was currently visiting. Having already passed a few gates and guards, to include barrier jutsu checks, she stepped over a salt ring, being careful not to break it. It was, admittedly, absurd, but at this point, every gesture of containment that could be thought of, along with random scribbles on the walls, was being deployed in an attempt to keep Homura under lock and key. Tsunade was fairly certain that she could just waltz out any time she particularly cared to, but it was nice to believe they had some measure of control over the abominable ancient of incarnate horror.

Said horror stared at her from behind a set of chakra-absorbing bars. Tsunade could feel the proximity of the other Kage around her. Perhaps it was stupid to have all of them present in the same room at the same time in front of the enemy - but at this point the Kage may as well be random citizenry as much influence as they had over what was going on. Maybe there was strength in numbers or something - or maybe the giant floating ship would just blow everything up ten seconds from now. No one knew. No one could do anything about it if they did know. Everyone wanted to talk to the eldritch horror in the basement because it beat pissing on themselves when looking at the sky.

"So," Tsunade sliced through the silence "We are rather interested in some answers about what is going on." Tsunade looked at the personality profile drafted up for Homura… and chucked it in the trash. Such things contained advice on how to approach a person or how to guide their mindset to be more pliable to your interests and concerns. This bitch had lived for thousands of years and saw entire civilizations rise and fall. While the people producing the profile were just doing their part... the idea anyone could profile the woman in front of her, much less sweet-talk her was an arrogance of an obscene variety.

"My, My …" Homura cooed. "Only at World's End are the idols sifted from the gods."

"Spare us the riddles." A grunted.

"But it is dragons who judge between the gods." Homura seemed to ignore A, perhaps as a point. "In any case, I can only give you a story. You must decide whether or not it qualifies as an answer."

"Well, we are listening." Gaara formed a chair for himself from his sand before expanding it into a couch for the Kage ensemble.

Homura gasped, "Its just like old times with stories around the camp fire! Gather 'round, children! This is a story that has been passed down... by others - I was there." Homura began to recount the story of the arrival of Kaguya to the planet, the role of the Uzuamaki as the keepers of the sacred tree and its fruit, how Kaguya became a goddess, and her love for the world.

"Alright, I'm calling bullshit on the whole loving the world thing." A interjected. "That is most certainly not loving the world." He gestured above and toward the mountain of terror which had become Kaguya's abode.

Homura paused for a moment. "... What does it mean when a goddess has children?"

It was a question the room had no ability to process. What did it mean for someone to be a goddess - let alone the implications for children.

Homura continued: "If a goddess' will manifests as actions, then her children are no less a part of her will than the flight of a paper airplane is the will of the one who folded it. Each child a goddess has embodies her will toward reality."

"Well, if you think you're the apple that fell far from her tree..." A rolled his eyes.

"Kaguya's will is that the world live in peace, happiness, and order with each other. To that end, Hagoromo, your Sage of Six Paths, was born as a part of it. Hagoromo was obsessed with the subject of why people suffer. He studied them, watched them, and developed ways of using the Uzumaki's sealing arts to try and seal away the things which caused people to suffer. The Uzumaki's sealing arts are far more powerful than a simple jutsu and operate upon the soul and the experience of reality, itself. Kaguya's abilities may seem impressive - the space ships in the sky may seem impressive - but all of those are nothing compared to the ability to bind one's reality and progression through it. If beings such as Kaguya could shape the planet to their will, as incredible as that is, the Uzumaki could make you wake up in paradise or hell, provided the right conditions, and it would be as though it always were. They are the vanguard between dream and reality for all things."

"I find that rather curious a claim." Gaara cleared his throat. "Perhaps they would have been of service to my younger self in more ways than one." He froze, and his eyes widened. "Perhaps I just evidenced your claim. Go on." A look of mild confusion spread across the other Kage. It was, interestingly enough, Naruto who ended Gaara's waking nightmare. Perhaps it was just coincidence. Perhaps it was more than that. At this point, Tsunade was not in a position to judge what was or wasn't real, anymore.

"For Hagoromo, the sealing arts of the Uzumaki seemed a sensible place to start when it came to the quest of ending the suffering of people of this world." Homura began a strut to the far wall of her cell. "A person's obsessions, bad habits, or destructive tendencies could simply be sealed away."

"That just sounds like a twisted argument for the benevolence of slavery." Mei flipped her hair.

"Indeed. My brother would eventually realize some of the error of his approach. This was only after failing his goals in the success of his plans, however."

"... His mother was suffering, seeing the turmoil of the world." Onoki clasped his chin.

"Astute." Homura spun with a snap to face them. "After the goddess succeeds her trial and consumes the fruit of the tree, she leaves. For Kaguya, however, she involved herself in the affairs of the world below and her compassion led her to remain. Obviously, however, a goddess disrupts the natural order when personally involved in the world. Wars were waged in the honor of old tribal gods against her existence, kings fought each other over the idea they could amass enough wealth to appeal to her. Some thought they could control her. Others swore fealty to her. While Kaguya could bend the material world to her whims if she so desired, she was completely unable to control the very thing she wanted to resolve the most."

"I … see where this is going." Tsunade narrowed her brow. "In order for the world to move beyond suffering, Kaguya had to leave."

"Well, that was the belief." Homura gave a tilt of her head. "Naturally, being a man of action and self-assured prodigy, Hagoromo took it upon himself to seal away that pesky compassion of Kaguya so she would see reason and leave."

"Dumb kid." A lifted his palm with a flip. "She still had every intention of bringing the world to order. He just created a totalitarian nightmare."

"You are correct." She gave a slight bow. "Where Kaguya's compassion held her back from utilizing her power to simply compel order with overwhelming force, it now no longer stood in the way of her ambitions. One could say that her heart was sealed away and what was left was a calculating warlord with the powers of a deity."

Tsunade's mind raced back to the discussions of Kaguya among Danzo's reports on Hinata. "Wait... you mean... Hinata is...?"

"The incarnate form of what was sealed by Hagoromo; the generally more pleasant aspects of Kaguya." Homura began playing with her hair. "The seal had to be slowly unworked. Neji's palm strike, Pain's use of the chakra rod. While neither of them consciously comprehended their role, their eyes and fate itself steered them toward working the seal free."

"For fuck's sake." A gave another toss of his hands. "Can't you people ever do anything normally? Submit a report, a request, you know... talk to us authorities? I mean what the hell is with all the cloak and dagger?"

"Need I remind you that you're ninja villages?" Homura perked an eyebrow. "Further, what would you do with a report that said one of your clan heiresses was the incarnation of an ancient deity and she needed to be subjected to trials and rituals to awaken the goddess who would immediately set about stomping the world into submission? Even if you accepted the premise of her being a deity, the end goal is not something any sane authority would engage in and my ambitions would reasonably be seen as criminal."

"Okay..." Mei waved her hand. "That doesn't explain the shenanigans with the Akatsuki."

"Your Sage of Six Paths died, correct?" Homura panned across the slow, unnatural nods. "Yet I am still here and look young enough to be jail bait." There were a few brows twisting among the group. "The man was a fool to his core. Do you think living indefinitely comes without suffering? His obvious solution to his own problems was to seal away his longevity such that he could die a natural death." She locked eyes with them again. "But. Do you think it is so easy for the children of a goddess to die?"

"You're saying part of Hagoromo continues to exist to this day?" Onoki curled his face into a frown.

"You know it as Black Zetsu." Twisted expressions danced across the Kage. "It's a parasitic will and chakra which latches onto a person and subverts their will. It carries out the ambitions Hagoromo left behind in his decision to die. It is fully committed to binding the will of all things such that there is complete unity and harmony among people and creation. For this, it requires the power of the tailed beasts, and has been in the shadows, twisting and manipulating nations to its will over the past several millennia. I created the Akatsuki to lure it away from nations and give me some degree of control over its actions. Of course, it couldn't be allowed to know who I was. It's not exactly the most intelligent."

"So, you expect us to believe you're some kind of hero in all of this?" Mei perked her brow above a piercing stare.

"I am here to complete the objective of justice. That requires the process of reawakening Kaguya and the trials that will place upon humanity. I do not expect favor or title." Homura shrugged. "I have achieved my objectives, for the most part. The rest is up to Hinata and the world as a whole to complete."

"Speaking of... where is Hinata?" Tsunade suspected she already knew the answer, but it was a nice opportunity to shift the topic of discussion.

"That is a question that requires a bit more explanation to understand the context of any answer." Homura flipped her hair. "The Uzumaki who survived the wrath of Kaguya made it a point to utilize her sealed soul in a rather condescending manner. At the core of the Reaper Death Seal is a call to bring forward the soul of Kaguya as the reaper of souls. Prior to the development and spread of ninjutsu and fuinjutsu in their more modern forms, a mask was used as part of a ritual to summon a soul into one's self and be taken over by its presence. For most people, this would cost them their life but allow them to claim the very soul of another person using Kaguya's soul. In the case of Hinata, however, the condition is a bit more permanent. The sealed Kaguya now occupies Hinata."

"So, I take it we can't just yank the mask off and get Hinata back." Tsunade twisted her face into a frown. "What is this trial you keep mentioning and how does it end?"

"That is now up to Hinata." Homura flipped her hair, again. "Will she acquiesce to a dream? Will she merge with Kaguya? Or will something else happen, entirely? There is, also, something else at play."

"We noticed." Onoki rolled his eyes. "Kind of hard to miss that giant metal monstrosity above us."

"Well, yes." Homura nodded. "They are here for their own reasons. You don't have much experience with it, yet, but faster than light travel and the quantum eraser compound to have some interesting effects. An entire reality can be struck from your existence when the right opportunities present themselves. A few might think the chakra tree and fruit worth fighting over, but it's not important. I was referring to the machinations of my father. It was his design that allowed Hinata to be born as she was and it was also his intervention which led to Kaguya consuming the fruit prior to her clearing of the trial. Imagine how persistent the existence of someone who creates and destroys gods must be if myself, Hagoromo, and Kaguya are your metric to gauge by."

[ v=_PMQN5cth2g ]

"Ino! Ino!" Sakura nearly beat through the door of the barracks. "Get your shit and let's go, the aliens from the thing are doing stuff at the place!"

"Hold up, boardhead, is this an order, or something?" Everyone had lost their fucking minds ever since... well, either the world had lost all prior reality, or hereto unidentified aspects of reality were on display.

"Oh, yeah!" Sakura nodded. "We are putting that plan for contact into play, since they seem to be doing the same."

Obviously, being a mind-reader, Ino's talents were expected to be in extreme demand when … whatever lived in the thing upstairs decided to show itself. "I'm still not too sure about this." Diving into the mind of other humans was enough of an adventure, and while some contact could be made with animals, their capacity to communicate was so incredibly stunted that it wasn't clear if the ability could bridge radically different minds or if it was just the limitations of animals. There were all manner of uncertainties and strong wills could feed back into her own psyche. She understood it was worth a shot, it was simply terrifying to be the one executing the logical and sensible course of action.

Outside, she found Naruto, Yamato, Sai, Shikamaru, and Shizune assembled. A bit more observation revealed teams from the other villages, as well. Everything had become a non-stop pool of action as the nations flooded their strategic resources into the area. "Are you ready?" Yamato gave an expression that seemed more personable than his usual self.

"I... have all of my stuff." She had trouble making eye contact with him. "I don't know how I can be ready, though."

"The report from the watch says they look almost identical to us, if that makes it any easier." Yamato gave a laugh and broke his own eye contact.

That, was honestly a relief, Ino sighed. Imaginations had run wild and often to the perverse in speculation as to what exactly inhabited the construct above. Perhaps it was her own naïve nature, but she thought it more likely that something in a similar body would be of a more identifiable mind. A giant insect as part of a colony might not have any notion of individuality or 'self.' God only knows what a giant worm would think about. She gave a nod. "I think I'll be okay."

"Of course it will." Naruto smiled. "I mean, if they wanted to cause trouble, they would have done it by now, wouldn't they?"

Optimism was good in these times. Naruto was good at optimism. "You've got a point."

The group made their way toward the section near the old Uzumaki temple/shrine where the aliens were sighted. It was a flattened false summit of the central mountain where they could be seen waiting, distinctly humanoid in appearance. As they approached, it became more clear just how … uncomfortably human they were. They were of lighter skin complexion and slightly taller on the average, but these were clearly a military unit structured in what appeared to be orders more similar to how the Samurai fought in ranks.

"What are those things they are holding?" Naruto squinted in their direction. They were boxy, metallic objects with a cylinder protruding from them.

"Looks like some kind of weapon. I don't see sharp edges and they are being extremely mindful of where the round part points, so they probably release some kind of projectile." Sai was busy drawing pictures of what he saw as they approached.

"I agree," Yamato signaled for the group to hold. "I need you all to be wary, but also mindful not to make aggressive displays." There were nods of confirmation.

"They all seem ordered like old military ranks. Uniforms, seem quite disciplined..." Shikamaru motioned to the arrangement which had a quartet of individuals panning separate sections of the area. "They are on fairly high alert, it seems. I doubt we will see them use abilities similar to our ninjutsu and their structure implies they rely on their weapons and squad tactics for military engagements."

The whole thing was surreal, Ino realized. If the ship above simply decided to stop magically hovering there and fall as all logic suggested it should, it would be the end of any ground conflict. Let alone if it just started dropping rocks or chunks of metal it no doubt had aboard. That was barring any kind of real weapon systems it no doubt had. The idea some kind of fight was possible seemed absurd. At the same time... it was their job - a sort of instinct and duty - to appraise what stood before them as a potential opponent to be prepared to kill if the situation demanded it. Who would they be if they simply rolled over and accepted defeat if the aliens demanded it? Certainly, humans faced seemingly insurmountable odds in the past and won by the raw grit of tenacity. She cast a glance at Naruto. A symbol for the times, no doubt. Hinata seemed to be oddly prescient in idolizing him.

"Alright, enough sizing them up." Yamato heaved a sigh. "Let's go say hello."

As they closed, a couple of the aliens took a forward position facing them and began relaying speech to one who stood at the center, unique in the fact he held no boxy weapon. A field commander of some sort? He would occasionally touch at his ear and speak, seemingly to no one. A radio system - relaying information to the ship, above?

"Ino, when you get into range, I would like you to make, as unnoticeably as possible, attempt to read that one at the center." Yamato nodded.

She could be ninja-like in her reading of minds. That was doable without many people knowing their mind was being read. No one she was aware of, however, had a magical floating ship the size of an island that presumably flew through space. So... what were the odds they wouldn't have some means of noticing her action? "Should we just try to contact them normally, first?"

"You are least likely to be discovered in the initial moments when both sides are grappling with first contact. They will be more aware of themselves and their thoughts, later." Yamato explained. It was true. Ino just didn't like the idea of instantly triggering the shortest interstellar policing action in history.

They were close enough to make eye contact as Ino began stretching her chakra and mind out toward the one at the center. It took a moment to realize she had succeeded - the mind was very calm and collected. There was a table laid out several paces ahead of the deployed team, obviously meant as a sort of meeting point. "Transition from personal to company guard - go." The group moved smoothly into a greatly expanded formation, with the perimeter guards taking positions behind their ninja team. She understood the words he spoke, clearly. Apparently, they had male and female as the people of this world had. However, what was more difficult to gather were motives and intent. She did not dare get more aggressive with attempts to break into his mind.

"He mentioned a transition to company guard" Ino relayed as her own team's eyes darted between the aliens advancing as though the ninjas didn't exist.

"Well, isn't that nice of them." Yamato relaxed his arms back to his side. "Good job, Ino."

"They've done this, before." Shikamaru panned his gaze across the soldiers.

"They aren't worried about us causing problems" Sai panned the horizon "Or other aliens. They seem to be worried about people from our own planet trying to create a scene. I agree, they've done this, before." Leave it to the black ops to point out that there were ninja who just might take the opportunity to try and induce a war with a political assassination.

They reached their side of the table. Arrayed on it were what appeared to be several tokens and a board with geometric expressions hewn into its surface and colored in some sort of coating that reflected a sort of rainbow iridescence. "They were prepared if our eyes didn't work in the visible spectrum... or... it probably works for us because they took everything into account." Sakura mused.

The alien man approached smoothly and what appeared to be cordially. He took one token and placed it on a symbol on the board. He then took two tokens and placed it on a nearby symbol. It seemed they preferred left to right, top to bottom as he arrayed increasing numbers of tokens, obviously displaying counting and their expression for numbers. He was silent throughout all of this. He motioned to a blank space on the table, glassy smooth and white - a dry-erase board? - and a device recognizable as a pen. Yamato set about replicating the gesture, making numbers and assigning tokens.

This process began to escalate, expressions of arithmetic and algebra, before things began to take a turn from numbers to verbs. Go, take, receive, leave, etc. All of this was done by exchange of symbols and tokens. Ino couldn't help but marvel at the practiced, deliberate simplicity of it all that made it so effective. These... other humans... were literally teaching them the primitives of their own language in an afternoon. No... it was more than that, they had engineered this language for the purpose of establishing contact with other species. Not only was it clear that the symbols for verbs were derived from similar mathematical expressions, everything was very high contrast and deliberate in its structure. It was a language intended to be common and what they were doing was a sort of ritual to verify communication in line with that simplicity. There were no homonyms, no homophones - everything had a distinct, deliberate use intended for no more and no less. If they had a more flowery, cultured language, it didn't belong here.

She took the time to note what was present on the uniform. An emblem depicting a bird and perhaps a star, the fabric was pressed crisply and seemed to be of rather rugged construction. In a position similar to where a name plate would be worn in many of their own uniform designs, there seemed to be an ever changing arrangement of symbols - it … was a peculiar object that was enigmatic amid what seemed a purely practical uniform design. The name plate, if that is what it was, was clearly a part of the uniform and clearly constructed of the same materials as the uniform - but it never had a fixed pattern of symbols, even as she tried to read it. It wasn't that it moved - it was just that … no matter how she tried to read it, she could never actually see the whole of the name - as if she were trying to understand the shape of the solar system while looking through a tiny slit, tumbling through space erratically. Did every one of these other-humans have this as a name? His features and mannerisms were also somewhat familiar... reminiscent of the entity she observed with that game board...

It was... somewhat relieving to know that at least the other-humans had a plan. This wasn't the frantic, chance encounter between two unprepared parties. "I'm not sure that is the right word for that..." Sakura protested Yamato's use of a word for the concept of ownership. "What you are using is closer to residing within, not owning something."

"Sakura has a point." Shizune provided her own word more closely approximating ownership.

"Yeah, but that also means like a person owns a pet or a servant." Shikamaru chimed in. "Perhaps possession is a better word to use for an object?"

"Are we simply holding this object or will we be upset if we wake up and it's no longer where we left it?" Sai shifted his mouth to the side of his face.

"Can we ask him for clarification of this concept?" Shizune tilted her head at Yamato.

"I mean, if they ask if I want to go 'reside' with them on the ship for a few days, that is very different from if they are asking if I want to be owned by them." Naruto tapped at the board. "Seems important."

It was becoming more obvious as the concepts became more complicated that there were many things which may have no common contextual basis. Well, for the ninja, at least. The other-human seemed to never be particularly surprised by the issues they had difficulty with or to get frustrated with them. Even so, it had only been a few hours, and they were already able to form simple expressions pertaining to locations, questions, trade, and condition. The efficiency of it was downright brutal.

The other-human perked his brow and touched his ear. "Say again, Hime."

It took Ino off guard. If he was hearing another voice, she should have heard it process within his mind. Was he really talking to someone?

He locked eyes with Ino. Her heart shot into her ears. He touched his ear. "Copy. Why didn't you mention something, earlier?" There was a pause as his eyes studied the horizon. "We could have gone through the contact protocol just the same - they still need to know how to do this." Another pause. "Well, it just would have made it easier, is all I am saying. You are extremely proud of this protocol, I've noticed. … I get that it works … alright, stop trolling, Hime." He lowered his had from his ear and looked directly at the Yamanaka. "You wouldn't happen to be able to spread that ability of yours across your team, would you?"

God damned aliens with their bullshit magic and having seen everything, before. "Uh... I... Um..." Ino struggled with existing for a moment. "Yeah."

"Ino - what's he saying?" Yamato's eyes had been dancing back and forth between the two.

"I've been found out. He wanted to know if I could make it so you could understand him, too."

"Well, he took that much better than we feared." Sakura broke out into what Ino recognized as relieved laughing. "Holy shit where am I and what are we doing at the moment?"

"Okay, before we do this, though, remember that we will no longer have a language barrier insulating us. Keep in mind he will understand everything we are saying as naturally as we do." Yamato nodded to the group and Ino connected the minds of the team and that of the alien man. Bullshit magical people are aliens.

"It's done." Ino nodded toward the alien man.

"Very well; I am pleased to meet all of you and apologize for the circumstances." He took a breath.

"We are pleased to meet you, as well." Yamato nodded.

"You don't have to be too formal." The alien gave a slight laugh. "You all are probably at the limit of your wits."

"Sufficiently beyond." Shizune didn't miss a beat.

"Well, you all bear the discovery of new limitations quite well, then." The alien smiled.

"And you all seem to have a better understanding of what is going on than we do." Yamato kept his tone level.

"Indeed." The alien admitted. "You find yourselves at a crossroads of destiny and as you can see, there are many sorts who like to be present for such things."

"And that would include you." Yamato remained level.

"Indeed, again." The alien smiled. "Your suspicion is healthy. We find it a detestable scenario where a people end up consumed by forces completely beyond their control, and have a long standing relationship with those who left this beautiful tree, here." He motioned toward the towering megaflora. "Of course, we are not here to decide your destiny for you. That is impossible, but we will make sure that your destiny is fulfilled by your own hands and not consumed by bands of pests."

"And we are to trust that you are capable of such?" Yamato motioned toward the sky. "A hundred gods appear in the sky and one claims to be both benevolent and able to arraign the others."

"A fair point." The alien gave a laugh. "We aren't the only ship of our kind here, but suffice to say that the fact you have not seen face of the other aliens is because they have been taught we are not to be trifled with." His voice grew calm and deliberate "However, you are in a very unique situation with an incomplete goddess. The shock of what is going on around you will wear off, but in its place will be an enormous trial of soul that is difficult for you to truly understand the scope of until after you've been through it." He quirked his mouth. "Are you aware of your … master of dreams?"

The group looked at Ino for clarification. "I … don't think we are familiar with the concept." She was only politely mind-reading, not milking his neurons of all context.

"Hmm..." His eyes suddenly found the clouds before he touched his ear. "Copy. … Negative. … Well, I'm standing in front of him. … How should I know? … Well things obviously got rather complicated down here. … It's not their fault. … What? No - it will only confuse him if you meet him - I have no idea why you always ask that. … … I'll ask, but I'm not entirely sure it's something they can answer." His eyes returned to the group. "Hime wants to know if it would be possible to meet with someone who knows the history of everything that has gone on here since the last time Kaguya was awakened."

"Do you know of a way to for sure keep her in one place? Like a jail?" Yamato practically bounced.

The alien seemed, for the first time, to be surprised. He touched his ear. "It seems there are some legal complications with host nation. … Unknown, I can request a more thorough brief of what they meant by it. … They apparently think it necessary to keep her in restraints. … Well, yeah, they were asking if we knew how to make that possible. … I don't think they have records of SCP-073, why the hell would they? … I know humor is... look - stop trolling, Hime."

"Sounds like quite the interesting boss." Yamato mused as the alien dropped his hand from his ear.

"It's not really a master/subordinate relationship." The alien shrugged. "Though I suppose it manifests to appear like that to some degree." He sighed. "Anyway, if you could give us a brief on what's been going on from your all's experience, it would be greatly appreciated. There would seem to be quite a bit to sort through." The alien stooped a bit to level with Naruto's eyes. "And you've got a big adventure ahead of you, kiddo." He reached out to pat the blonde's head with a smile.

[ v=HWYcdP5b7qA ]

Hinata winced against the glare of sunlight coming from windows and vehicles as she and her companions made their way toward school. "So," Ino Yamanaka looked back over her shoulder, "I recently started this really interesting series from several years ago - "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" - It's got some really interesting existential concepts!"

"I never took you much for an otaku." Sakura yawned. "Though I guess trippy mind subjects are right up your alley."

"Seriously!" Ino shot back. "I have this crazy theory, that Haruhi is actually from the data integration thought entity as an interface meant to test humanity's ability to modify their surroundings - Kyon is just the one who responded to their attempts to communicate!"

"We haven't seen it." Sakura groaned. "How can we even begin to talk about it?"

Hinata slumped her hand into a raised position. "I've seen it." She yawned again. "You noticed that Haruhi's hair style changes were a basic pattern recognition check for intelligence and that Nagato Yuki always seemed to defer to her as a superior, didn't you?"

"... Actually, yeah..." Ino tilted her head. "Anyway - I find the idea of the strong anthropic principle rather interesting - the idea that the world exists because we exist."

"You two are so weird." Sakura tossed her eyes to the sky.

It had always been like this - their walks to school in the morning, the jestive jousts between them. Nothing all that out of the ordinary. Nothing really even all that unusual about their discussions. Hundreds - thousands of people just like them were doing the same thing anywhere in the world. There was something comfortably realistic about being just another girl on just another day having just another conversation.

[ v=dr-6mazMSZo ]

Homura locked eyes on the blonde outside the bars, the glare of torches dancing across his features. It almost made his hair look red and his face more mature. In truth, she expected to finally be destroyed by who stood in front of her. "Why?"

"That's a big question." He scratched the side of his head.

"Why did you save me?" It was memories interspersed between frantic events after Kaguya's awakening, but Naruto had no doubt intervened in what should have been her end.

The blonde took a few moments, clasping his chin and closing his eyes. "Do you think you can change life for everyone so quickly, then just escape?" He locked eyes with her. "That's a bad habit of yours."

Her gut twisted. "Would you not be the same if people lived and died within the span of one of your days - or even minutes?" Humans were not... things... but they were. They were barely insects who lived and died with such regularity they were practically a renewable resource. Patterns began to emerge - every human thought they were someone unique, someone who hadn't been around, before - but she knew differently. There were millions of any given person, possibly at any given time. Sure, there were differences between each one, but every group tended to have the same personalities dispersed among it. When one died, another cropped up to replace it. Once you've met a hundred humans, you've met them all at least five times. It was … disgusting in a way that was difficult to describe. People were supposed to be unique and precious parts of your life. They were not supposed to be revealed in such a light as she saw them. "I've..." She didn't enjoy being a part of the sealing of the jinchuriki in the slightest. She threw up afterward, each and every time.

"I've seen the world too, you know." Naruto folded his arms. "It can be a shitty place and put people in shitty spots." He lowered his arms. "Everyone has a right to be happy and fulfilled. You, me, Hinata, all of our friends. If we were to let you out of this cage, I don't think you would hurt any of us. If you were set on hurting everyone, then, yes, I would have to put an end to you." He set his eyes on her, again. "But, you're not. I … don't think I can see, just yet, what justice would look like for you. I would like to think that you can learn to live for something other than your death."

"You're..." She folded her legs to her chest "not wrong."

"Hinata is still out there, somewhere." He'd turned to face down the hall. "I'm going to do whatever it is I can do - whatever it is I can think of - to bring her back. I think she would be rather upset if you were to have been lost, as well. Something tells me that you would also like to have her back."

It was Him... it wasn't Him... If she'd seen a million like Sasuke and a hundred million like Sakura... this made only two of what stood in front of her she'd ever seen, but as a youth she never saw of the first. "I … "

"Thought you had no place in any of what happens?" The blonde cut her off. "For the first time in a long time, you're not prepared, are you?"

It.. was true. "I … hoped, though, that she would win."

"I can't tell you what to live for." Naruto motioned to leave. "I can tell you that I think, much like Sasuke, you have far more good you can do in the world than harm, if you choose to." With that, the blonde left the sight of her cell.

Homura let out a sigh, almost quivering. How long had she awaited judgment... and... what was that judgment, even? It was easy for a kid to speak in such idealistic terms. Would the nations decimated by the actions of the Akatsuki agree she deserved anything short of torture, destruction and death? People were emotional entities who often demanded reprisal in the form of blood. The idea she could be redeemed as anything acceptable within society was beyond absurd. Damn that idiot kid for being so much like her father... all of it was something she could see coming from him... but it was … the naïve idealism of a kid.

Her lip turned down in a quiver. She - was seriously going to cry? Apparently, that is exactly what was happening as her vision blurred and fluid streaked down her cheeks. Her chest heaved with soppy gasps. It was true what they often said... death was a cheap way to build sympathy for a character the author had no idea how to redeem. For her part, she had no idea how redemption was possible, and the end she'd desired was flatly denied.

[ v=jvB06NfKwSA ]

Hinata dodged Naruto's eyes. That... was something that could never be. She knew her place within the social castes, and Naruto was in a different one. He wasn't a snob, a prude, or a jock, he was just, in a world above and beyond her reach. Surely, someone of her rate would not be enough for him. She'd observed him enough to know he'd probably think such a thing silly and bust right through the social castes as if they didn't exist... but someone like Naruto would end up being able to have his pick of the litter soon enough, and she would just be a footnote, or even something of a blemish on his history. Or... someone who would leave him unfulfilled - something even worse, perhaps.

The morning rites of the class began and came to their near conclusion, when the instructor cleared his throat. "We also have a university student joining us as a teaching adjunct. She's been studying abroad and has lived in a few other countries." There were some interested noises bustled through the class. "I would like for you all to welcome miss Homura to our class."

Hinata felt her brow twist into a knot before her heart slammed into the base of her skull as the Homura, immediately recognizable from Hinata's dream, strode into the classroom. Hinata, at first, would have written off the whole thing as insane coincidence - or perhaps some kind of odd precognitive sense of human beings yet unknown to science but reported by many. However, in the young woman's hands, presented to the teacher, was a Pomegranate.

"It's a tradition abroad" Homura smiled toward the teacher. "In America, teachers were given apples as a symbol of the fruit of knowledge. Teachers have always cultivated the fruit of knowledge and passed it on to their students. Although - the fruit of knowledge as it appeared in its native origin stories was the Pomegranate."

Notes:

A thank you to all who have shown support over the years and offered up your time to both read/enjoy as well as provide review.
The world looks a bit crazy at the moment, and as some will note, given my flash traffic from years ago, I am not in the slightest bit surprised by any of what is unfolding at the moment.
Consider what it means to hold a hostage. We are in troubled times, and attacks will only increase. However, what should be remembered is that you - and by extension we - are not alone and are not isolated. Most people are good and, as more good people become aware of the evil machinations unfolding, the ability of that evil to succeed also declines. There is more going on than is appropriate for me to talk about, and I am sure that some of you are already aware of exactly what I am speaking of. In case some might wonder - the answer is no - I am not. It would appear that we have crossed paths in the past, however, and left quite the impression on each other if I might risk a brag. But "it" is bigger than what you're thinking. There again... most things you've encountered on the interwebz likely are bigger than you realized they were at first glance. You are bigger than you think you are... but, that's almost a spoiler for what's coming up the story.

For these times, I recommend watching Psycho-Pass and Kill La Kill. The two work really well together. You could also try playing the game TroubleShooter if that's your thing (it's delightfully Korean and actually makes me miss my time in/around Chinhae quite a bit).

That's as close as I'll get to politics at this time. I don't think my leanings are a mystery at this point and you're not here to have them plastered in your face. I will say, though, that I'm on the side of things where as many of us make it through to the other side with freedom intact as possible. Enjoy the show, but remember that these people are playing for keeps.

Don't lose your way.