"How are you feeling?"
"Ya know, it's interesting to know that the only time you find it appropriate to speak first is when I ain't in the mood to speak."
"You not in the mood to talk? Like that's ever going to happen."
"…just, shut up, I'm thinking."
Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed even more. Let it be known that his friend and fellow… whatever they the hell they are now is someone who cannot consistently keep his mouth shut. The dobe always has something to say about something, no matter how small or big of a deal it is... thought he'd lose that habit by now, considering that it's been… Sage knows how long now.
It's got to be at least five hundred years… maybe?
He doesn't keep count.
Still, it's a long story to tell, and both of them intent on keeping it that way for as long as they can. But, for the sake of reminiscing…
The Elemental Nations were at peace. They dealt with the moon-folks and whatever other wannabe terrorist organizations threatened to destabilize the peace they've made. All of that wouldn't be possible without a little bit of something, however. And that 'something' just so happens to be transcending the mortal realm. Yes. He and the dobe are no longer regular human people. They're still people, but they're not exactly human anymore.
The process was convoluted and a pain in the behind to do, but long story short, it had something to do with them using Hashirama Senju's genes and a brand of Senjutsu that even he had no idea how to work with – it was the dobe doing all the work on that part, while he just helped with chakra control. As a result, they're now what people call a Sage. No, not the job, but the species. Yes, he too was surprised to learn that such a thing exists. And, no, they're not wrinkly old men.
At first, they weren't open to the idea of living past eighty or a hundred. But due to the immense power they already contain within them – more so in the dobe's case because he somehow managed to fuse himself with his Bijuu a long time ago – the people back home decided that it'd be a waste to let it all go to waste with them eventually succumbing to old age.
Both he and the dobe know that they're going to live a long life. The dobe and his Uzumaki genetics, and him and the after-effects of Orochimaru's experiments when he was still under his tutelage. But, honestly, both of them do not find the idea of becoming old and wrinkly a pleasant one. They know they're going to leave behind loved ones and watch them grow old. And… that's exactly what happened. In the end, they chose to transcend. They became Sages; the species. Nothing much really changed aside from the fact that they'll live for a very long time. Minus the old and wrinkly part.
"Say, teme, how much do you trust this Yukari woman anyway?" Naruto asked his former teammate. The blonde was keeping a steady pace beside his black-haired friend, his arms crossed beneath his pectorals, and his sandals-covered feet trudging through the dirt path.
The former Hokage was dressed in his trademarked buttoned-up orange shirt, black pants, and matching shinobi sandals. In other words, it's his Hokage attire when he was still in office from a long time ago. The only difference being the length of his hair, as it's far more reminiscent to the one when he was in his teens. He only trimmed his hair when it's hot outside, and since the weather was particularly chilly in this season, he had decided to keep it longer.
Sasuke's eyes glazed down over his own attire. He wore a black high-collared shirt, a midriff-exposing flak jacket, and a pair of lightly blue trousers to go along with his black shinobi sandals. He had to wear his brown poncho over them due to the weather and the region's tendency to rain abruptly, unlike Naruto who could regulate his body temperature at his own convenience. He also had his sash wrapped his neck as a makeshift scarf, helping with warmth.
But to answer his friend's question…
"Not much," Sasuke said simply in the curt manner Naruto was familiar with.
"So you don't trust this woman much…" the blonde muttered, scratching his chin with his bandage-covered arm, "what makes you think what she said was true, then?"
"She had no reason to lie to us," Sasuke started, "and besides, you've seen what she could do." He finished, his fists tightening at the reminder of their first encounter with the woman.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, blue eyes turning to dangerous slits for a brief moment all the while murmuring, "yeah… ain't nothing natural about her, though like we're one to talk…" he muttered under his breath. "You reckon she's a Youkai of some sort?"
The last Uchiha shrugged his shoulders, answering, "perhaps. But whatever she is, she's dangerous. She could've attacked us every time we meet and we'd be none the wiser to whatever she could do to us."
"But she didn't, right?"
"Hn."
Naruto didn't like that Yukari woman at all. Frankly, it's because she gave him the creeps. Something about her felt… wrong. Unnatural. Then again, most things gave him that impression now that he's capable of sensing things that weren't supposed to be, well, felt. Things like ghosts, Youkais, and even spirits. He used to be afraid of ghosts and whatnot… but now that he knew better, he's just unnerved by them.
The Elemental Nations was a different place from Earth. Its people could use chakra and they could do things that the people of Earth would consider as superhuman or downright fantasy. Really, the teme couldn't have transported them to a more different world. Then again… it's not that it's a bad thing living in a world where chakra or some form of inner energy isn't widely utilized…
It just meant that their wars were far bloodier than the ones back home, that's all.
He still remembered Europe in the twentieth century – it was around the year when they first settled down here on Earth – and the global-political climate it was so heavily immersed in. He and the teme swore that they wouldn't interfere with the wars here, but there were moments when turning a blind eye was just as hard as fighting a war.
Either way, they both knew that their presence was not needed in modern life. Just like back home, their presence could only spell trouble. With their abilities and powers, people could be hurt; they could hurt people.
This was when this Yukari woman came in with a solution for the both of them.
"Gensokyo..." Naruto tested the name of the place that was going to be their new home in his mouth. "What do you think the place is?" he asked his friend.
"It's supposed to be a place for people like us; for beings that modern society would rather be free without."
"Well, if you put it that way, I don't really like the sound of going there."
"Hn."
They'd over decades of living experience on Earth. They'd seen both World War One and Two come and go. They even fought each other due to an argument on whether or not they should do something about it. It was at this moment when they realized that any manner of interference, regardless of intent, would be detrimental to both the people of Earth and them.
Like two whales in a pond… the teme once said, and he agreed with him. They're just too… dangerous for the people here. Could they do good and help people? Sure. Definitely. But, at the same time, they'd lived long enough to know that doing good wasn't enough to deter bad things from happening. In fact, based on their experience, it seemed to attract it even more.
Naruto just hoped that wherever this Gensokyo place is, it'd be a good enough place for the both of them.
"So this is the shrine? Kind of… run down don't you think?"
The pair finally arrived at their destination, or rather, the place that's going to take them to their destination. Sasuke had to agree with Naruto's comment. The place did appear to be run down and abandoned. Downright decrepit. The Torii gate in front of the shrine was practically rotted and looked as if a decent gust of wind would bring the structure down without much effort. The courtyard was littered with dead leaves, while the stone lion statues lined alongside the pathway leading to the main shrine building were cracked and showed signs of deteriorating. The main building itself appeared to be halfway through being demolished. There were visible holes on the ceramic-tiled roof and half of the shrine was pretty much rubble.
Overall, not the oddest place for them to set up a meeting spot for… just… why?
…and he found the answer why.
His eyes gave him an arsenal of abilities that he'd mastered after centuries of living. He'd gotten used to them to the point where he pretty much had them on every moment he spent awake. One of the abilities that his eyes gave him was the ability to see things that was not exactly there. An example would be during his fight against Madara when his ancestor fought against him and the dobe using a copy in limbo. As it turned out, his eyes could also be used to see things that normal people considered abnormal. He'd seen ghosts, spirits, and things of those sorts during his time on Earth.
'A… barrier?'
Before him was a transparent but visible wall-like structure that stretched far and wide across the landscape. So massive was it in size that he wasn't sure he's able to reach the end of the barrier even with his speed… if it had one in the first place.
"Oi, teme, I'm sensing something... huge right in front of us."
Ah, yes. Unlike him, Naruto could not 'see' what he's seeing. He could, however, sense it. If it weren't for him being able to see, he was sure he would be ignoring to the existence of the barrier currently standing behind the run-down shrine building. The former avenger looked around, eyes darting across the courtyard.
"You see something?" asked Naruto.
"There's a barrier of some sort behind the shrine," Sasuke told Naruto, "it's probably the thing you're sensing."
The blonde hummed. Wordlessly, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were no longer the same ocean blue eyes they were before, but rather yellow with horizontal pupils. An orange pigmentation also affected the area around his eyes, making it look like he'd applied eyeshadows. Now that he'd slipped into Sage Mode, he could feel the presence of the supposed barrier even more. He blinked, and at the same time deactivated Sage Mode.
"A barrier, huh? Wanna try going through it?"
"I wouldn't recommend that."
Being the trained warriors they were, the sudden presence of a third person on the shrine ground got them to act up. Sasuke was clutching a sword that sparked with black lightning that was absent a moment ago, while Naruto had his right arm surrounded by a golden cloak of life energy that threatened to eviscerate anything at the other end of his fist. Their attention was drawn and fixed to the space behind them, where a tear began to slowly form in thin air right before their very eyes. Ribbons also began appearing at the ends of the slowly widening tear, forming a 'gap' in the fabric of space and reality. Both of the men's awareness had shot up through the roof, but they held their bodies back when they saw the figure who emerged from within that eye-filled gap.
Sasuke's eyes analyzed the slightest bit of movement their guest made as they emerged from the gap. Naruto had summoned five clones and hid them in the surrounding woods as a 'just in case'.
"Oh my, what a scary sight? Now, now, is that any way to greet your benefactor?"
Dressed in purple, she looked like she could have any men wrapped around her pinky finger. Small ribbons were liberally tied at the tips of her blonde hair, she also wore a pale pink mob cap with a thin red ribbon on it. Her face could easily be categorized as a work of art. Long eyelashes reminiscent of a butterfly's wings, full lips that somehow managed to look fresh even without the aid of modern cosmetics, and a pair of dazzling golden eyes which were a brighter shade of gold than her hair. The purple Chinese-style tabard she's wearing somehow managed to fit her foreign aesthetic. On her side, was a pink lace parasol currently kept folded and unused.
Sasuke lowered his sword, the black lightning surrounding it shimmering to inexistence while Naruto dismissed his chakra cloak around his arm and the five clones he summoned in the woods. The two of them were still wary of the woman before them, though. They've only had short and to-the-point meetings with the person before them in the past and throughout all of that she'd never failed to make them wary.
"So you can see it, huh?" Yukari murmured loud enough for both men to hear. The two men took it as her referring to the barrier the both of them sensed in their respective ways.
"No," Naruto said, "he can see it," he said referring to Sasuke, "while I can only sense it." The former Hokage flexed his outstretched arm before lowering it back to his side. "Not like it's something small either. It's a wonder how I didn't sense it earlier; I should've been able to tell it was there even before reaching this shrine with how immense it is."
"Naturally," Yukari said with a slight puff of her bust, showing a hint of pride. Her eyes glimmered in a way that conveyed mischief. "I made sure that it stays that way. We don't want just about anyone to wander through it now would we?"
Sasuke dismissed his sword, sealing it back to the tattoo on his wrist. "So is that what we'll be doing," he started, referring to both him and the dobe, "will we 'go through' it?"
The woman played around with her parasol, all the while allowing herself to hum a little tune. "Not quite. Normally, folks don't just 'go through' the barrier just like that. It is a barrier, after all. If folks are capable of doing that, then it'd defeat the purpose, no?" she explained, giggling. "I'll be allowing you to pass through it. Rather than 'going through' it, you'll be passing through it."
"Ugh, you're one of those double-speaking characters, huh?"
Yukari only giggled even more upon seeing her fellow blonde's reaction. "Well," she slung her parasol in a lady-like manner over her right shoulder, "before I allow you both to pass through let me make a few things clear."
It was at this moment when the two former shinobi felt pressure beginning to form from the pits of their stomach. Although the expression and stance of the woman before them did not change, she somehow managed to exude an aura that commanded their attention. If they were anybody else, they would've been brought to their knees. Thankfully, they weren't.
"One: the place that you are about to enter is my home. My Gensokyo. It could be your home as much as it is mine, but be reminded that you two are far from the only ones who share that privilege." She said in a tone much colder than the one she used before. "Two: whoever it is you'll meet when you pass through the barrier, I don't want you to harm a single hair on that person's body." If she was cold before, she was chilling now. "And third and lastly," just like that, the intimidating look slipped off her face, replaced by a disarming smile that somehow managed to make her look even more beautiful, "enjoy your stay in Gensokyo."
Before their bodies could react, the ground beneath them ceased to exist.
The two reincarnations of their respective bloodlines slipped through a hole filled with eerie unblinking eyes, and the next thing they knew…
…they're seeing a girl dressed in red and white eating crickets fresh from the ground.
Where the hell is the Slice of Life genre on this site?