A/N: Hello and welcome to the ninth installment of Home! Holy wow, I can't believe we're here! I'm so thankful to any and all readers who have dealt with the technology barrier and my personal growth as a writer, I would not have continued without your support via reviews, follows, or favorites! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! This will be a very Akuri-central entry, it only seemed appropriate with Naruto's short scenes and minimal action. Present-tense scenes will be titled like this: X Naruto X, while flashbacks will be titled like this Naruto (These are examples). This fic is loosely based off of the events of Naruto, Shippuuden, and eventually Boruto(ish). All of which are owned by Kishimoto, the one who should receive the credit and the money. Except Akuri, she's mine. Any apologies for spelling/grammatical errors that were missed during the review portion, my dog would probably be a better editor if he knew how to read. Also, I would like to apologize about taking so long to update. Life hasn't been the kindest as of late, despite me updating the late evening after my birthday.
X Akuri X
The explosion underfoot gave the tiniest window of escape, my Mangekyo being utilized to teleport to a nearby tree. I grunted at the pain that blossomed behind my eye socket, wiping my left eye with my sleeve to clear the blood that welled from the tear duct and formed a wavering ruby virgule that threatened to cloud my vision. When I whipped my head back toward the fray, the clay dummies had quadrupled since my assault had begun and the earth where I'd stood had been softened into sand by the underground explosives my adversary's partner had placed without my realizing. Sasuke's form flitted into view beside me, the marks of a frustrating scuffle on his face and clothing.
"There are bombs below us still," Sasuke confirmed, glancing with his vermillion irises toward the chakra status we were both picking up from the Akatsuki duo while I shook the stone from my fist. "And the clay fighters on the ground have doubled again. How do you want to go about this now? I don't think we should take them on separately."
"I don't think we should either," I agreed, eyeballing the amassing figures comprised of bleached earth and incendiary chakra as they bumbled into each other in their endeavor of encroachment. "They're going to come for us. We've got to get moving, make it harder for them to reach us with the trees."
"I've got the rear, you lead the way," my twin ordered, tilting his head in the direction of the denser portion of greenery in the woodland area. "Just like when we used to play tag, sister. They're it. When they're taken care of, we go for Deidara."
With a soft chuckle I nodded and wasted no time in following suit, launching forward to make contact with the next branch and press forward another dozen meters or so before looking over my shoulder to be sure that my partner hadn't fallen far behind. The ease in which Sasuke halved the tree trunks with his blade to trap the clay atrocities was stupefying in a way, my right hand having to shoot out and grip a branch to swing myself around and propel forward to a thicker limb five yards away when I nearly took it head-on. My pace had to continue as my rogue brother trailed behind, the small hoard of monster pieces hot on our tail thinning ever so slightly as the treetops themselves came crashing down upon them. When the gap between us widened too far for my liking, I halted in our chase game to land on a sturdy-looking bough to survey the situation more critically. Had Sasuke's expression not remained placid, I would have called out for him in dismay as the grouping of oblong alabaster loaves latched themselves all over his stock-still form. His bright red irises were the last I saw of him before they detonated and the force of the explosion resulted in a monsoon of dust and debris thick enough to make anything other than chakra signatures and molecular trails indistinguishable in the cloud. The sound of a heavy wooden log crashing to the earth in the distance alerted me to his position.
"You've definitely picked up your speed," I muttered to myself in astonishment, following the tiny markers that were recognizable as Sasuke's scattered amongst the atoms with my eyes and finding his purple chakra shock across the clearing where our foes bickered between themselves. I phased into place beside him, surveying the softened earth from prior discharge of other detonations as my cells materialized into a solid mass. It was then that the pair of us witness Deidara's erection of a massive clay dragon.
"That'll never stop being weird," Sasuke commented on the transportation of molecules, pursing his lips into a thin line of concern before speaking again. "That looks like it could fly and explode. If he takes to the air with that, we'll have bombs above and below."
"He's too chicken to fight face-to-face, he'll hop on his doll and fly," I presumed with a chuckle, "do you think you could manage on the ground? I can make it up there and go in for a fatal strike...if you keep him occupied."
Sasuke's reddened eyes grazed the opposite end of the clearing as he contemplated an answer. In that time, Deidara mounted his aerial escort and we witnessed his enigmatic assistant vanish into thin air. I bit my lip in frustration at the predicament and winced at the sharpness, taking the respite to focus tediously on their placements and formulated a potential parry.
"His buddy went underground," I informed, studying the lighting-quick movements of the masked Akatsuki member tunneling below the earth, his motion lit by a light blue procession of tiny chakra molecules bounding off of the gray that belonged to the natural flooring and the sublevel teal masses under the crust of the planet that had to have been a part of Deidara. "He's planting more bombs."
"Great," Sasuke sighed, tightening his grip on the katana in his hold. "Keeping this guy busy just got a lot more complicated."
"You're smart," I assured, taking his free hand to give it a firm squeeze before letting go. "You've got this. I'll back you up if you don't, big brother."
After taking in my twin's half-smile for a moment longer than I'd wanted to, I evaporated into the air and traveled between each air particle to spread thin to wait for my opportunity to strike.
"She really left you to fight on your own?" The blond bomber from the skies taunted, "some sister you've got. Probably dipped to get back to that monster she calls a man."
"Her love for the fool outweighs her need to kill you," Sasuke retorted uncouthly, glaring up at our foe. "But you're just an obstacle in my way now. Where is Itachi, lackey?"
The insult spurred the cloaked rogue into launching an assault, the tip segment of his beast's tail receding into it's avalanche-white form while it's cheeks bulged with what I could only assume was another type of creative detonation piece. The Akatsuki member's grin was unsettling, even more so as he launched a smaller and fatter version of the main dragon from it's jowls. The piggish-looking explosive darted for Sasuke, lifeless eye-pits zeroed in on the former serpent affiliate as it collided with the softening dirt before him. The red-eyed young man landed an evasive leap to the left, landing with a particularly unbothered expression that seemed to infuriate my target further.
"Let's show him the power of your pop-art, partner!" The dark-haired tagalong chimed cheerily after having emerged from the dirt about twenty feet from Deidara.
"Pop is dead," the leader of the duo declared, forming a sigil of focus with his right hand to concentrate the chakra appropriately in time with his dragon's tail losing another notch. His underling fled from sight at his next proclamation, "My art is super flat!"
A secondary creation, an even more rotund dragon than the first projectile, was then ejected from the mouth of it's predecessor and headed straight for my other half. With a hefty amount of anxiety, I watched with the threadbare hope that he was able to avoid a direct hit and heaved a quiet yet relieved sigh at the sight of him bounding to the right out of the dust cloud. Sasuke charged forward after but a moment's pause for thought, blade drawn low in his left grip while his right illuminated with the crackling bolts and whirs of what I assumed to be his flapping chidori. When a stream of purple energy jutted out from his fingers to the heavens, I drew my cells elsewhere to give him a wide berth without the potential for incurring damage myself. As a countermeasure, the clay manipulator steered his steed into the production of an even heftier pig-faced explosive that sped itself in my twin's direction.
Well, that's not good..
The revelation of his limits were enough of a hindrance to my plans that I heavily distilled my chakra into the rays of sunshine cascading across the land, refracting bright and lively sabers that decimated the wings of Deidara's draconian transportation using the light and heat from the massive star that ensured our planet's survival. As the avian appendages separated and fell to enhance the dust below, I caught a glimpse of Sasuke's defense from the guided missiles as they detonated within his range. The individual below shooting off massive fuma shuriken was only a likeness of my twin, long tresses of faint violet pewter hair, skin tainted an unearthly gray, and muscular back having sprouted a gargantuan pair of clawed hands that eerily mirrored a set of wings. As Deidara was pinned to his clay monstrosity by the iron stars embedding into his arms and was careening to the bomb-laden ground below, I watched with rapt attention.
"Not a chance," he gritted at pain, pushing the fuma shuriken with his feet at their hollowed core to free his forearms and fish a large glob of clay from a pouch at his hip to devour it ravenously. The clay dragon was soon separated from it's rider, said occupant fabricating another flying vehicle to abandon his original design and escape the coming explosion. The detonation below was too much force for me to remain scattered in the space above, my cells flitting to a tree to materialize on a limb that belonged to a tree not that far from the conflict site.
The instant the dragon came to rest upon the earth's surface, the several hidden explosives began to go off in a succession that somehow reminded me of fireworks. Deidara's form vanished and I allowed myself to dissipate into the atmosphere once more to observe the coming antics from our oppositional duo and the motion of my twin's black cloak fluttering in tatters across the coming breeze. The sight of Sasuke's transformed figure pulling itself toward the thick forest with flesh-tinted snakes that sprouted from a shoulder that had lost most of a wing was more comforting than I'd assumed it would have been, given his disconcerting appearance.
"I saved the best for last! This'll kill you," Deidara snarled, wild blue eyes focused entirely on Sasuke, "it'll wreck you both on the molecular level. Tobi! Run, now!"
The recently dubbed Tobi's feet began to skitter against the ground before his attempts to gain traction paid off and he began to charge through the surrounding woodlands. When I tore my enhanced vision from the comical sight of his flight from battle, I was then confronted by the image of a Deidara concocted of epic proportions. Sasuke himself was at the ground level, susceptible to the harrowing glares of hatred by the caster and the blank expression of obedience by his gargantuan likeness.
"Ahh!" I could hear Tobi flounder as he attempted a speedy escape. I would have found him funny had he not been a part of the rogue organization that housed two of my desired quarry. "Not the C4 Karura! HURRY, FEET!"
That really doesn't sound good.
Sasuke hurriedly began to depart from the area, a genuine look of dread on his face becoming that much more grievous as the colossus of paled clay began to pursue him for a short distance. My anxiety spiked at Deidara's manic grin, a small train of blood and saliva running down to his chin as he leered at his prey while the mammoth version of himself halted and began to inflate as though an air pump had been inserted in an orifice. As soon as the seams began to tear, the humongous effigy dissolved without a bang into a quickly-dispersing smoke that mingled in the air with my own atoms. Horror permeated every cell of my being when I caught sight of the encroaching nano-figures breaching the previously unoccupied space between water molecules, Sasuke's expression mirroring the apprehension I held about the coming occurrences.
"That's right, I win," Deidara crowed viciously from his flying perch. I watched helplessly as creatures of the surrounding forest fell prey to his jutsu, pieces of them evaporating from their space as though they possessed the same abilities I did. When my sibling came dangerously close to falling prey to the assault, there was no more observation needed and I swarmed every last piece of myself into place before the terrorist starting with my feet and sneakily working upward with my construction while he remained hypnotized by the sight of victory. When my hands became tangible parts, I felt around the weapon pouch nestled at the base of my spine on the left side. "Art is an explosion!"
"You're fuckin' right, it is," I countered, materializing fully in the face of my foe as I plunged the knife I drew into his chest. The joy it brought me should have been banned - my heart racing and my skin sizzling with an ecstatic electricity as the blade broke through flesh and tissue to find what I had hoped to be cardiac muscle. To make a point, I twisted the iron in it's fleshy crevice to illicit a groan of pain. "Your first mistake was attacking me months ago. Your last will be trying to hurt my brother, you fucking scum."
The fear present in those blue eyes was nearly enough to stir a bloodlust deep within, the knife making several more trips from a space in the air to a deep valley of slashes and perforations. My erratic swipes tattered the cloak on his body, the material being torn away by a rather fierce gust of wind. The screams that I thought I would be hearing were not ringing in my ears and I regained composure just enough to stop my fury of blows. When the rogue's flesh faded to an untarnished and unpigmented humanoid of bleached earth and the vermillion sludge leaking from his flesh conformed into a white gunk, my heart skipped a beat and my jaw fell slack.
If he isn't here, he's...
A strong fist curled around my ankle and closed like a vice, confirming that I'd made a grave mistake by giving up my position and attacking him on my own. Deidara began to emerge partially from the body of his avian device, a feral smirk pulling his lips back to reveal bloodied gums and a tooth with the tiniest chip missing.
"And now it's over," he insisted, "how about a direct C4 attack?"
The black balloon that he blew like a gum bubble began to shape itself and develop variants in the pigmentation that decorated the rapidly growing explosive. I grit my teeth as the mass enlarged to the point of absorbing me into it's center, the pressure more than uncomfortable and the situation a bit more fickle than it had been only moments ago. Instead of panicking like every single cell of my body wanted to do, I carefully studied my clay prison and searched for weak spots or deficiencies of chakra. The trepidation I felt at the image of nano-explosives intermingling with my own particles was almost enough to make me lose any composure I'd mustered up. I took a deep and leveling breath, slowly exhaling and letting my worries exit my body with a soft sigh in order to dissect the walls of my cage even further to locate an escape route. All I could see were the microscopic bombs as they multiplied and eureka dawned on me as I caught the small gaps between them.
If I can break myself down smaller than an atom, I should be able to slip right through and separate from all the bombs! I just need to be able to do it before there are too many..
Pain erupted from the left side of my face as I focused my chakra into every individual cell that belonged to my body, a hot stream of blood trailing down my cheek began pixelating away as every quark began to scatter and dissipate into the free air outside of my clay coop. When I could clearly see the nano-bombs skittering amongst a cloud of their own and safely away from the even more miniscule parts of myself, I decided it was time to return to battle. Despite the agony that accompanied it, I spread my molecules impossibly thin to survey the perimeter in search of Sasuke and Deidara. The pair of them were panting with Sasuke having reverted to his fully natural state and his foe seated in the grass, both understandably exhausted, opposite of one another in a small open area about forty meters into the thick woodland. I gathered all the pieces that were me and directed them to construct my physical form once again, this time hidden in the underbrush at Deidara's back while he and Sasuke quarreled verbally.
"You lost your partner and you're going to retract your Sharingan?" The Akatsuki member hissed in offense, "Do you really take me that lightly?!"
The blond terrorist ripped off his remaining top article, the tattered white cotton released without a care to the coming breeze and we waited carefully. From what I could see, our target brought his left hand to his breast while his right dove into the nearly-empty pouch of clay holstered to that side of him before bringing it to his chest. The sound of rending flesh and Deidara's dark guffaw, accompanied by Sasuke's subsequent expression of shock drove me to a state of mild alarm, but I delayed any course of action to be sure of what was to come.
"This is my ultimate art," the virtuoso boasted, "this time, I'm going to detonate myself."
My expression had to have been the same as my twin's - aghast. Exhaustion had to have kicked in as Sasuke crumbled to his knees, but remained in a knelt position and aware
"In death, I shall become art itself!" Deidara swore, throwing his arms out to either side while his body became translucent to the point that I could see an ominous looking orb where his heart should have been. "No one's seen an explosion like this, one that shall leave behind a scar on the very earth below us!"
Action had to be taken at the next proclamation that fell from the terrorist's wide mouth, my feet already skidding across the grass to reach Sasuke as he struggled to get back up to flee.
"This explosion will cover ten kilometers," the bomber informed wildly, "you can't run away from this one!"
The next few words to escape the bloodied and busted lips of the near-invisible Akatsuki member fell on deaf ears as I watched him contort into a singular globe just before the black core of him begin to crackle and beams of pure white light began to break through the ebony shell. My body moved faster than it had any God-given right to as I threw myself forward at Sasuke to take hold of him as my cells began to disperse for travel. When my twin's strong hand made contact with my forearm, I surged almost everything I had left to shuttle the pair of us to the safest place I could think of.
X Akuri (Mom's home)
"This is where you were born?" I inquired, studying the sea from the sandy beach we stood at that early morning. I didn't even bother asking for my mother's permission, kicking my sandals off at a dry spot before rushing the incoming tide to feel the cool splash. "How did you end up at the leaf, Momma?"
"The women from this village are meant to battle many men," Mikoto revealed, toeing the shoes off of her own feet before steeping into the chilled water lapping at the shoreline. "The man that won against us in a fight were deemed worthy as husbands."
"Dad beat you in a fight?" I gaped at her in disbelief, whirling around to face her and let the sun warm my backside.
"I don't like to admit it very often," my mother divulged with a smile playing on the corners of her lips. "But, yes. Your dad won a fight against me. And today, I've got the most amazing children."
"You mean big brother, right?" I wondered glumly, turning to face the sun sparkling on the surface of the sea.
"I mean each one of you," Mikoto swore, her voice in my ear as her loving arms wrapped around me from behind. The speed of her embrace never felt unsettling, only all-encompassing. "You're all unique and wonderful in your own ways...I only have one little girl, right?"
I wriggled in her hold and mashed my face into the welcoming rift of her collarbone, taking in the pacifying scent and basking in the unwavering warmth that her love emanated. The affection tickling my innards was a sensation I wanted to hold onto for as long as I lived, this moment on the shore of this bordering village something I wanted to carry with me for a lifetime. This sweet moment of togetherness with our ankles soaked by icy sea water was going to be imprinted upon my very soul. Two days ago, I'd set out on this girls-only journey to the border of the land of water, thrilled to meet my mother's relatives and those that had taught her to be who she was. I was fully enthralled with the history of Nadeshiko village. The most important thing I desired to take from this trip was my mother's fanatical prowess as an invaluable kunoichi. I'd seen her train a handful of time, not that it was a regular occurrence during these serene times.
"I want to show you something, 'Kuri," the eldest ravenette allowed, taking my small hand in hers to gently guide me back toward he village that rested upon the edge of the water. "It's a special technique that my side of the family has passed down for generations."
We retreated from the wet playground we trounced about, grabbing our sandals to carry by the heels on two hooked fingers while our feet dried in the warm sunlight. I followed my mother barefoot through the quaint settlement that the matriarch of our family hailed from, studying the stalls and businesses that lined the main road. Despite my wanting to stop at a handful of vendors, my mother's hand remained laced with my own as she led me through her hometown with a sense of purpose. The building we stopped at appeared to be some sort of residential structure, the smile tugging the corners of Mikoto's lips told me that this was exactly where she intended to bring me.
"Where are we, mother?" I finally asked after a moment of basking in the entrance of the establishment.
"This is where I learned about our sacred sun jutsu, sweetheart," she informed, giving my hand a loving squeeze, "and this is where I want to start your training on it."
Wonder flooded my senses and I gazed upward at her with bewildered bicolored eyes, astounded at the very thought of her educating me on a ninjutsu that had followed us through time. The stupefaction of the entirety of it wore off as the jaded thoughts of being the youngest child of the household began to permeate the air of excitement that had clouded my form.
"I'm sure you brought big brother here to show him," I glumly assumed, my sullen expression cast to the soft dirt that encompassed the grounds of this proclaimed academy or training grounds.
"No, your big brothers have never been here, actually," Mikoto professed as she crouched down to my size, soft fingertips stroking the hair out of my face and curling it behind the shell if my ear. "This type of ninjutsu can rarely be achieved by the boys, let alone mastered. Why would I show your brothers something that only you could possibly do?"
"...only me?"
"It's a specialty that the women of this village often perfect," my mother clarified, standing to her full height once more to guide me into the building. The doors opening revealed a large main room with a small handful of bookshelves that lined the walls, a tiny plethora of tables and chairs scattered amongst the hall. "This is where we do our research, study up on the sun jutsu before we start applying the practices. Let's see if I can find you the book that I started with."
I glanced about the wide space, noting that there were well over a dozen women that vacated the near area or mingled about the shelves of tomes and one another. There were multiple ways of exit and the massive windows that scattered along the walls let in the most appealing amount of sunlight, our own home seemingly so dark in contrast with the room we currently occupied. After scanning multiple bookstands for the sufficient tome, the dark-haired woman I dotingly called 'mom' returned to my side with a heavy-looking leather-bound tome and placed the heavy book in my hands.
"Once you get two-dozen or so pages in, we can go outside to start working on it, okay?" Mikoto offered with a sweet smile and a tilt of her head. "I'm sure you'll be fabulous with the technique."
Those six days in the land of waves made the biggest difference in my capabilities, not that I knew it at the time.