"We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for a moment that we're not alone." Orson Welles
1.
"You are being heartless, Mirai-chan…" Orochimaru commented while he flipped his tongue in his mouth. "You put the poor child into a genjutsu that could drive him mad".
"If your teaching methods haven't driven him mad already, he shouldn't play in my league" Mirai responded, turning around to face her true enemy.
Orochimaru was watching her from a distance with his serpent eyes locked on her like they were made of the most refined glass. His sickly pale skin was beaming under the moonlight and his silky black hair that reached his waist was smoothly following the direction of the soft breeze. He grinned at her as he moved closer.
Sasuke was stunned and trapped inside her illusion. His Sharingan would be useless to counter her attack this time; she had created this jutsu specifically against the Uchiha dojutsu.
She approached the shinobi with caution. Orochimaru was not only powerful and dangerous, he was also a disgusting piece of trash that harbored no mercy in his body.
"Orochimaru-sama, we finally meet. I must ask you to leave the Grass Village" Mirai said with her most persuasive voice.
They stood at a safe distance -if that was possible- and then he grinned again.
"Mirai-chan, I'm afraid I have no option but to capture you tonight. The least you resist the better for yourself and your village." He responded idly.
"I'm afraid I will have to refuse" she claimed, assuming the gentle fist stance before him.
"How beautiful. I must have you! Since you put Sasuke-kun away, I will become your opponent!" he exclaimed creepily.
"Last warning. Leave now or die." She announced steadily. Mirai, as she often did, was hoping for them to stay and fight. She wanted Orochimaru dead for all his crimes, many of which were committed against her Clan.
"Consider me warned" Orochimaru responded, his yellow pupils becoming even brighter with excitement.
Mirai nodded and stood still, calculating the odds.
The man she was facing was a Jonin from Konoha that had gone bad years ago. He was known for his eccentric behavior that included medical experiments, abduction of young children and the numerous modifications he had made on his own body. He was a genius in ninjutsu, having mastered most techniques known to shinobi. Also, he was famous for his bright mind and incomparable intelligence. Orochimaru had completed 1.468 missions while he was still in Konoha.
Mirai had only a few advantages compared to him. She was close to her allies and the Grass Village would come to her aid when they realized that his presence. Also, she had already exceeded him in taijutsu skills. Her monstrous stamina and her bloodline limit would be proven important as well.
Unfortunately, the odds were still against her.
The man moved his neck unnaturally and then extended it, attempting a physical attack at Mirai. His throat became long like an overgrown snake and while he opened his mouth, the woman saw a pair of large fangs, dripping with something she felt she didn't want in her system. She made a confident shout whilst her right palm blew chakra towards his face and repelled him momentarily.
Her byakugan allowed her to see that he absorbed her chakra when it reached him. Excellent.
The odds were narrowing down. She was a horrible match for him. She couldn't put sufficient distance between the two of them, with his capacity to expand his limbs and also consume enemy chakra, he would have her panting in less than ten minutes.
The monstrous man continued his attacks ruthlessly, aiming for her neck and torso while Mirai barely had the time to think between her reactions, however she wasn't going to go down without resisting.
'Calm down' she reminded to herself.
Orochimaru landed a direct hit on her stomach which sent her flying through the forest trees. Before she had time to react and tumble naturally, her back hit the log of an old maple tree.
Mirai coughed up some blood and felt a strange taste in her mouth; he had managed to poison her. She wasn't certain of what it was but she felt her limbs numbing slowly which led her to believe that he had injected some modified snake poison in her blood, during his last attack. She didn't have much time before she would be completely paralyzed, therefor helpless.
Mirai laughed quietly. The horrifying man approached through the woods, staring at her with delight.
"It's over now, Mirai-chan. Soon you'll reach a death-like state, where you won't be able to resist anything." He mused, licking his lips with excitement.
"It ends, when I say it ends" Mirai replied, her flaming glare fixed on him. She swiftly bit her thumb and pressed her finger on the ground.
"Summoning Technique..." she announced coldly.
Orochimaru's grin became wider and more sinister as he did the exact same motion: "Summoning Technique!"
The part of the forest where the combat took place was devastated by the appearance of two gigantic summonings: A Snake and a Dragon.
The Snake called by Orochimaru was a large, purplish creature with strong scales and cat-green eyes. Mirai estimated that this enormous monster could wrap itself around the grass village almost twice.
The Dragon that came to her aid was one of her strongest allies as well; he was dark blue in color and possessed two pairs of wings that allowed him to fly and maneuver easily. His eyes and mane was a bright yellow color, resembling the flash of the thunder.
Orochimaru immediately flew on his ally's flat forehead and prepared for battle. His expression indicated that he was impressed by the enemy creature.
"Rai-sama!" Mirai yelled at the enormous dragon. He roared in reply and she smiled, watching him flying above her, ready to engage with full force at her command.
"You could become great one day, Mirai-chan! Its unfortunate that you picked the wrong side!" Orochimaru exclaimed, preparing to attack.
Mirai reached swiftly for her side pocket and pulled out two pills. She swallowed them without hesitation and immediately felt her stomach twist and turn. She had purposely shocked her body using pills that were meant to boost her chakra levels. Now, she was brimming with excessive chakra and adrenaline. She knew that the poison was still in her system but -considering that he would have enhanced his saliva effectively- she had approximately six minutes to go on rampage. During that time frame, she would have to eliminate both of them because after that her body would catch up to both the damage and the poison and she would probably be incapacitated.
"I will not bow to the morals of any side! Never!" She screamed at him while Rai roared again in unison with her. She leaped as the snake attacked and used the current of the massive blow to lift herself higher than Orochimaru.
She heard the siren of the Village, her allies were coming. She smiled wildly; the odds became even.
"Ha!" she exhaled as she directed enormous amounts of energy against Orochimaru's chakra points. She could see with her byakugan that his arms were almost useless already; a kind sponsorship of the Third Hokage. She aimed for his main vessels with clear murderous intentions.
He moved swiftly on the back of the head of the serpent he was mounting, avoiding her strikes. She landed away from the snake and started to approach him again.
He gave her a vicious grin as he prepared for his next move.
"Forbidden technique: Reanimation!" He called in frenzy, as the land cracked beneath her feet, slowly exposing three sealed coffins. Mirai shivered to her core, sensing the vile energy of the kinjutsu.
"Rai-sama!" She ordered, pointing her index finger towards the enormous snake.
The Dragon obeyed instantly, diving from the sky at her command while thunders stroke from each of his wings towards the serpent and his Master. The two monsters clashed, making a booming sound as they begun their own combat.
Orochimaru was focusing on the reanimation ninjutsu but Mirai noticed that some of the smaller snakes that had been lurking inside his robes had fled and almost reached Sasuke's location.
'He is going to wake him up now, damn it!' Mirai thought feverishly. Right when she tried to move away and intercept the aid, the coffins cracked and opened wide, revealing the forms of the Third Hokage, the Fourth Kazekage and… Hyuuga Daisuke. Mirai halted at her heels, witnessing not only the leaders of two powerful Hidden Villages but also her paternal grandfather. All of them had the pale skin of the dead and the their eyes were completely blacked out. This technique had brought back the dead to battle her.
Mirai sighed as she assessed the situation and allowed herself to blink slowly once. This was no more a pattern of odds; she was as good as dead.
"I'm sorry, child. We are made to do this now." The Hokage spoke gently as he pointed his weapon at her.
The Kazekage remained silent and ready to attack.
Hyuuga Daisuke smiled at his granddaughter. "Mirai. Run." he warned her, while his byakugan was activated.
"Forgive me, Hyuuga-dono. I am the obstacle between that monster and the world for this short time. I'll join you in Heavens if I must, but I will not surrender or be caught alive!" She replied, lifting her chin.
She thought about her son and her brother. She though of the smiling faces of the children in the Grass Village and the happy expressions of her clan members as they greeted her daily. She thought of something that Itachi had once told her, too.
'We don't know what kind of people we truly are until the moment before our deaths. As death comes to embrace you, you will realize what you are.' He had told her sleepily, as she had been tracing the lines of his naked back.
"You are right, loved one" she replied then and now, at the moment of her imminent death she repeated this sentence so she wouldn't lose her courage.
Her gaze became peaceful once again as she placed her feet and arms at the right position to have all of them in her taijutsu threat zone.
"Eight Trigrams..." she mused, her eyes shining in the dark while her opponents ran at her "… One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
2.
Neji was awakened by the sirens inside the Village. An attack was taking place. He jumped out of bed and swiftly put on his combat clothes that consisted of a white kimono styled shirt with long, loose sleeves and matching pants, as well as a navy-gray traditional apron around his waist and black shinobi sandals.
Mirai never came to bed.
'She must be out there already' he thought to himself as he opened the veranda sliding doors and ran outside the Hyuuga District. Hyuuga Shizuka stopped him on his way.
"Where is Mirai?" She demanded strictly.
"I do not know, madam. She wasn't in our sleeping chambers" He replied hastily, as his eyes caught something terrifying in the distance.
Shizuka noticed his expression and turned to see for herself.
"Byakugan!" They said in unison as they saw clearly the enormous beasts colliding, sending a horrible tremor and sound towards the village.
"She is fighting!" She yelled at the Hyuuga members around her. "Our Leader is fighting alone! We will assist her!"
Neji felt a shiver down his spine. He knew that snake...Orochimaru!
"But Hyuuga-dono, we have no orders to intervene-" one man tried to reason with her but she interrupted him.
"I am ordering you now! The Hyuuga Jonin of our offensive ranks will follow me into combat! The rest of you, protect the village and the Clan!" She instructed with the presence of a leader.
"Yes, madam!" Everyone agreed and they immediately followed her.
"Neji, stay here." Shizuka then told him.
"No! She is my wife, I want fight for her, too!" He protested strongly.
"Will you die for her?" Shizuka inquired.
"Yes!" He replied immediately, his eyes focused on his mother's in law gaze.
"Wrong answer. Death isn't an option for now, Neji. Stay put, don't make me repeat myself ." She announced as she left him.
Neji stood still, the blood in his veins was boiling.
Another roar echoed in the distance and the combat appeared to be raging but Neji saw many allies running in the woods. They were running to her. They would have to be enough. She would come back after all of this, unharmed and unfazed as always, right?
"Damn it!" He shouted to himself, with no one else around to see him snap. He felt his headband weighting on his forehead.
'That's right...I am a Konoha shinobi. Konoha shinobi never abandon an ally!' he thought to himself. He nodded and ran behind the rest of the ninja that were approaching the area, keeping his eyes focused and his head cool.
No one would die tonight!
3.
(Sasuke woke up in the middle of the night, feeling nervous for some reason. Sakura was disturbed by his sudden movement and she twitched in his arms.
"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?" she demanded sleepily.
"I think I had a bad dream or something..." he admitted suspiciously, sensing the house for intruders.
"Please, please just sleep… I have a long day tomorrow..." she nagged and turned around to hug him tighter. Her eyes were almost fully shut and she fell asleep swiftly.
"Yeah..." he agreed doubtfully and wrapped his arms around her as he tried to relax.
It was then that he heard his daughter's giggles. His eyes popped open and met his wife's terrified stare.
"Sarada!" She gasped as they both moved rapidly towards their baby's room.
Sasuke kicked the door open and there he saw a man lingering upon his child's crib. He held his breath, analyzing how to attack him without hurting his baby daughter, however his hot-headed wife had already passed him, aiming her devastating fist against their opponent.
A thunderous sound was heard as the man blocked her attack effectively, revealing his face.
"Itachi!" both Sakura and Sasuke screamed at him.
"I'm sorry, I just returned from my mission and I wanted to see her!" He apologized hastily, still grabbing Sakura's fist.
"I almost killed you!" Sakura yelled at him, picking up her daughter that was now crying.
"Oh, we scared her..." Itachi mumbled.
"You should have notified us." Sasuke scolded him, relaxed.
"But you were both sleeping so peacefully and lovingly, I didn't want to wake you up." Itachi argued, mystified.
"You… you… watched us sleep?!" Sakura stuttered, furious.
"Just for a moment, I really missed Sarada. I don't want her to forget me." He admitted apologetically.
"Sakura, calm down… You are upsetting Sarada. Itachi… stop invading our home to see your niece. Just visit on normal hours and most importantly don't, don't ever, come into our bedroom again" Sasuke warned him.
Sakura sighed and took their daughter to their bedroom to calm her. Sasuke stared at Itachi.
"Are you okay?" he asked, checking his body for injuries.
"Of course." Itachi replied smoothly.
"You sure?"
"Don't worry, little brother. Worrying is for grown-ups." He teased him.
"I am a grown-up." Sasuke pouted slightly.
"Of course you are. Will you have a quick drink with me? I promise, I'll leave after that."
"Sure. Let's go downstairs." Sasuke agreed.
"Maybe you should also put a shirt on" Itachi noted.
"House rules forbid me to." Sasuke mumbled grumpily.
"What?"
"Sakura has placed the rule that I am not allowed to wear a shirt or anything that covers my upper body while I am home, unless other women are visiting." He explained.
Itachi giggled softly. "And what rule did you issue?"
"No women are allowed to visit..." Sasuke admitted firmly.
They both laughed.
Itachi brought the liquor from the kitchen as Sasuke fell on the couch.
"You've been rubbing your elbow a lot. Is something bothering you?" Itachi asked abruptly.
Sasuke frowned and looked down at his arm. His skin was indeed red and scratched.
"I don't know-")
Sasuke stopped in the middle of his sentence as he woke up from the illusion.
He was standing still in daze, as a white snake had sunk its teeth into his elbow, effectively activating his genjutsu defense.
He had fallen for her illusion. Shit!
He felt his throat sore and his chest heavy as he gasped for air, like someone who was drowning.
Above him he witnessed Manda, the sage snake, fighting what appeared to be a… dragon?
"Mirai!" He screamed running towards her. He would kill her himself. How did she dare to create such a parody in his head?!
It was then that he stumbled upon Orochimaru.
"Let's stall Mirai-chan's allies from reaching to her. I've left her with some of my reincarnations, she will be dead shortly." He explained.
"No! I want her! I want to kill her myself!" Sasuke yelled at him.
"Patience, my boy. Once she is dead, we can have her to ourselves for interrogation and… research as well." He insisted, licking his lips almost erotically.
Sasuke felt disgust for his teacher but didn't speak. She knew where Uchiha Itachi was. He was eager to fight her but he wanted to know about him even more. He nodded in agreement.
"You can kill as many of them as you want..." Orochimaru proposed, pointing his chin towards a swarm of Grass Shinobi that had reached the clearing.
Sasuke drew his sword and steeled his will. 'First I'll finish with them and then I can have her' he thought firmly.
The image of Sakura holding their imaginary daughter flashed in his head. He shook the warm feeling away. He would have to kill her too, sooner or later. He couldn't allow her to make him feel hope. He felt the same burden in his chest weighting him down and he clenched his teeth.
They both ran against their numerous opponents.
4.
Mirai had managed to stand and fight for almost two minutes against these gods. She had already probably proved herself to be a formidable opponent but she was gradually decreasing in strength. Her body would catch up with its injuries sooner than predicted. She could sense her allies approaching but she was certain that Orochimaru and Sasuke would stall them. Rai was battling ferociously against the great snake. She was standing alone.
She half-smiled as she dodged another attack by the Hokage. She felt comfortable alone.
'We are born alone and we die alone, after all' she thought to herself.
Her eyes noticed a swift barrage of kunai with explosive tags attached to them, forming a circle around her. Her opponents flew away to dodge the attack.
"Kaiten!" she called as she used her clan's ultimate defense, revolving rapidly.
"Yo!"
Mirai turned and saw Kakashi standing by her side with one kunai on each hand.
"What are you doing here?" She asked him in shock.
"I came on a mission but I volunteer on this one, too." He said seriously, his eyes fixed on their opponents.
"Join the rest of-"
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." He interrupted her.
Mirai stared at his serious expression.
"Behind them" she pointed at the three reincarnations, "towards the west, are both Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke. Rai-sama is battling with the Snake Summoning. I'm sensing twelve Hyuuga members and twenty four grass shinobi, 280 meters to the west, too." She reported hastily.
"Gotcha. Your condition?"
"Less than two minutes and I'm dead meat but my chakra is still enough."
"We have to finish this sooner than that then." He announced, pulling his headband away from his scarred eye.
"Sharingan!" He called, activating his transplanted eye's properties.
Mirai pressed her limits even further, activating her Dragon Sage Mode. Her eyes became even brighter and their pupils became serpent-like. Red shadows appeared beneath her eye-sockets and below her chin. Crimson scales formed behind her ears and on her neck and shoulders.
She nodded at him and they charged forward.