Mesa no own Naruto (Just the random OCs)
Seito: Wai… we kinda forgot we had this… we finish… and forgot to post… : P Well today's our birthday! So enjoy! While I enjoy my sweet sixteen!
To quaebah24Yes, Hotaru is strange. (Hotaru: He can't kill me if I kill him first.) Yes… what goes on in her mind, I'll never understand.
To Tenshi UrameshiDon't worry. Riku won't get Sasuke. I would never do that Sasuke or Naruto. Riku is just playing around.
To Yum2Déjà-vu … yeah… spell check… doesn't exactly catches it… and yeah… if it does… sometimes it gives the wrong one… sigh. Yeah… And I think you meant Gambatte. (QY- She would know just like you know cuz you're French and she's Jap. XP)
To Kyuubi-kunSo true, so very true.
To everyone elseTHANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!
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Without Life&-&-&-&-&-&-&
Chapter XITrouble At Wind; Secrets at Snow
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There was a rumble, a small rumble… a very small one like a prequel to a small earthquake. Nothing to worry about… Earthquakes weren't rare.
Of course the strange thing was what followed after the rumble was felt. A scream… a man's scream…
Sasuke, Shin, and Riku looked at each other. A slight tingle of dread overcame the three of them and something, a little voice, was shouting in the back of their heads, 'Get-out-of-there-NOW!' They didn't move, ignoring that little voice. It didn't matter; they were about to find out why anyways.
"Isn't that Jiraiya-san?" pointed out Shin.
Indeed, the said Sannin was heading their way. Before greetings could be said, Jiraiya leaped behind Shin, gripped onto the poor boy as if he was some kind of shield. Shin was about to ask what was going when the reason became VERY clear.
"Ummm… Shin? Sasuke-kun?" started Riku. The two looked in the direction that Riku was. There, coming at them like a pack of angry bulls, was a horde of girls. A large horde of girls… each one held some kind of weapon (mop, shovel, sword, broom, etc). Now, from experience, both Shin and Sasuke knew very well that you do NOT mess with girls. Especially angry girls who band together. So they did the most sensible (not really) thing they could think of at the moment: grab Riku and ruuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!
Of course, the poor boys didn't realize that by running, the horde of girls assumed that they were with the pervert that was peeping on them. In other words, everything went from bad to worse. Needless to say, the whole town was treated to some entertainment.
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Riku whistled a little tune to himself. The sky was clear, the breeze was cool; it was very peaceful. And peace was something Riku liked. Of course, seeing his (adopted) brother and his friends run around screaming was much more fun to watch.
Riku looked towards the sun. Judging from the movement, he would have to say that they had been running around the town for about an hour. Riku, of course, was smart and found the perfect moment to teleport himself out of the range of the horde of girls as soon as he understood what was going on. Needless to say, Shin and Sasuke (Jiraiya too) were cursing Riku's luck to escape.
Flashback-
"What's going on?" asked Riku.
"Just shut up and run. You don't want to get in those girls' ways!" shouted Shin. Jiraiya nodded in the background. Sasuke glared at the older man.
"This is all your fault," the Uchiha accused.
"Who? Me?" questioned Jiraiya.
"Oh, so basically, hide from those girls," said Riku.
"Yeah, basically," answered Shin.
"Okay." Then Riku vanished. If Shin had the time, he would have stared and gaped before realizing what the silver haired boy had done.
End of Flashback-
So Riku had spent the last half hour watching Shin, Sasuke-kun, and Jiraiya-san run around the town. In fact, here they come again.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"COME BACK HERE, YOU PERVERTS!"
"PEEPING TOMS!"
"BASTARDS!"
"WHEN WE OUR HANDS ON YOU!"
"YOU'RE GOING TO WISH YOU NEVER DID THAT!"
Riku looked down and noticed that Sasuke-kun wasn't running anymore. 'Looks like Sasuke-kun managed to find a hiding place.' Riku smiled and watched Shin and Jiraiya continue another lap around the town. He couldn't help but wonder why Shin hadn't found a hiding place yet…
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Riku was right; Sasuke did find a hiding place. Not a comfortable hiding place, but a hiding place nevertheless. Being cramped up in a closet was better than running from those crazy girls (not to mention he accidentally locked himself in). Since he had time to kill (it would be another couple hours before it was safe to walk outside, not that he could), Sasuke figured he might as well get started on that letter. Konoha was probably in an uproar already. It would be no surprise to him if Tsunade had already sent out the ANBU teams to find and kill him. Sasuke just hoped he would have a chance to explain before they decided to do that. Then again… with them just randomly going to places, it might be a while until the ANBU team found them. Especially considering they just (somehow) jumped a country without Sasuke knowing. (He still hadn't figured out how Riku managed to pull that one off without him noticing it. It must have been in the morning, really early in the morning…Sasuke's brain mustn't have been functioning when it happened. So really early in the morning...)
Sasuke fished out some paper and a pen from his pocket. Now, how to start his letter…
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Shin didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. First Jiraiya-san pulls him into a stupid chase, then Riku disappears, leaving him high and dry. After that, Sasuke ditches him! So yes, Shin wasn't liking this.
"So kid, any ideas?" asked Jiraiya. The older man was running beside him.
Shin scowled and glared at him. "This is all your fault," he accused.
"I noticed you're not wearing your scarf and hood anymore."
"Don't try and change the subject, besides it was too hot."
"Yeah, so kid, any ideas?"
Shin paused and stopped to think. "Yeah," he said with a grin. Jiraiya waited patiently and as soon as they came to a bridge with a river running underneath it, Shin spoke again, "Leave you here and escape." Then Shin jumped off the bridge, into the water and swam to safety. Had Jiraiya had the time, he would have stood there gaping like an idiot for the next hour.
"THERE HE IS!"
"GET HIM!"
But Jiraiya didn't have the time, so the chase continued.
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Up on the rooftops Riku was having fun. So Shin managed to hide, that was good. It would have been a big disappointment if Jiraiya managed to get away before Shin did. Riku was surprised Shin wasn't the first to disappear. After all those times trying to hide from Hotaru… Shin should be a master at hide and go seek. Then again… Hotaru always managed to find him too. So maybe Shin wasn't a master… more like an amateur.
A shift in the wind drew Riku's attention away. Looks like Kai was here. 'I wonder why,' Riku thought to himself. Oh well, he'll probably find out soon enough.
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"You need that letter delivered?"
Sasuke looked up as he finished the end of his letter. Instantly, his eyebrow rose. "Should I even ask how on earth you managed to get into a locked closet?"
Kai's black eyes shone playfully at him. "Probably not. So do you need that letter delivered or not?"
Sasuke sealed the letter and handed it to Kai. "Sure. Since you're offering, but before you go…" Sasuke paused before continuing. "Could you open the door?" The blue haired Slatrommi could only sweat drop.
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Shin squeezed out the water from his clothes. He would dry them with his magic, but a red glow from underneath a bridge might attract those girls back here. Above him, he heard Jiraiya pass over the bridge again. That baka… serves him right for dragging him into this mess. Shin continued to curse the older man. The young fire mage knew he was going to be sick tomorrow. He hated his luck.
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Sasuke was right about one thing. Konoha was in an uproar. They went crazy when Uchiha Sasuke suddenly disappeared overnight without a note. Not only that, their guest, Shin, has also disappeared overnight. The same night Sasuke disappeared. Even though Shin left a note, half the village blamed him for Sasuke's disappearance. Think about, Shin comes and when he leaves, Uchiha-san disappears. Clearly Shin was sent to kidnap Sasuke.
The other half of the village was worried that Sasuke had been pushed over the edge and went to pursue Orochimaru again. Sasuke had almost succeeded in betraying the Leaf and the person who brought him back was no longer here. What were they going to do?
Up on top of Hokage Mountain, hidden from mortals' eyes, a little girl watched Konoha with boredom in her crimson eyes. Her red hair flew in the wind as she twisted the ends of her leaf green shirt before standing up to dust her emerald green skirt. She was bored! Watching a village was boring even if they were in a state of chaos. Rubbing the blue stone on her necklace, she let out a yawn. Why did she have to watch? Crimson eyes suddenly lit up, maybe today wouldn't be SO bad.
"Yo, Chi! Got a letter for you to deliver!"
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on. At this rate, she would have to declare Sasuke a missing-nin and order the ANBU squad to find and kill the boy. She didn't want to, but betraying Konoha twice in one lifetime was too much.
"Chi thinks Tsunade-sama should wait!"
Tsunade looked up. 'What the-?' Standing in her doorway was a small girl with crimson red eyes. Blood red hair was tied back into a high ponytail, flowing down her back like a waterfall of blood and fire. Her shirt was a leaf green color while her skirt was emerald green. Around her neck was a necklace. In the center of the necklace was a blue stone that shimmered like the different shades of the ocean. In her hands was an envelope.
"Who-how-what?" stammered Tsunade. How did this child get into her office? Why was she here? And who was she?
"Chi is Chi! Chi doesn't want to explain how and Chi has letter for Tsunade-sama! Chi still thinks Tsunade-sama should wait before sending the ANBU team out," Chi chattered quickly in third person. She bounced up to Tsunade and handed her the letter she was holding.
"Read! Read! Letter from Sasuke-niisan! Sasuke-niisan is in good hands! Sasuke-niisan is with Shin-niisan and Riku-niisan," Chi continued to chirp in a singsong voice.
Tsunade's eyebrow rose as she opened the letter. It didn't seem suspicious. Still, she opened the letter carefully. Inside, with Sasuke's familiar writing, it said :
Dear Hokage-sama,
As you probably know by now, I'm not at Konoha. Hopefully this letter gets to you before you decide to label me as a missing-nin and send an ANBU team to kill me. It wasn't my choice to leave Konoha… actually it was in a way, but I seriously didn't plan on leaving Konoha. Let's just say, I managed to get myself mixed up with some of Shin's problems and it's dangerous to return to Konoha any time soon. So in the mean time, I'm stuck traveling with Shin, his adopted brother Riku and for this village, Jiraiya-san as well. It's a bit of an odd traveling group. Jiraiya-san managed anger the ladies from an onsen and is currently being chased. He managed to drag Shin, Riku, and myself into this mess. Currently I'm stuck in a closet, Riku managed to get away and Shin and Jiraiya are still running around, at least to my knowledge. Oh and if a blue-haired man suddenly appears in your office to deliver this message, that's Kai. He's another one of Shin's adopted family members. Apparently, Shin's siblings like to randomly appear at the strangest times, at the strangest places.
Uchiha Sasuke
Tsunade looked up. Well, it wasn't Kai, whoever he was. This was a red-haired girl. "How did you get this letter?" Tsunade asked.
Chi happily answered it for her. "Kai-niisan gave it to Chi! Kai-niisan said to deliver to Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama wants to send a letter?"
Tsunade blinked. This was getting a little too weird, even for her own tastes. Instead she sat back down in her chair and rubbed her temples. What a killer headache…
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"Haha! Nothing like good sake and making it through the day alive!"
Three glares were shot at him. Jiraiya grinned. "So what are you boys doing here? You're a little far from Konoha. Tsunade knows you're here right?" The last questions held a serious tone to it.
Riku answered him. "Just traveling. We know we're far away from Konoha and I think Hokage-sama knows we're here. Sasuke-kun sent a letter to her." He winked at Sasuke and noticed that Shin twitched at his actions.
Jiraiya looked at Riku. "Who are you?"
"Riku, Shin's adopted brother," Riku introduced himself.
Jiraiya then turned to Shin. "You got a brother?" he asked.
Shin's eyebrow rose. "Two actually and two sisters. None of us are truly related to each other though." Jiraiya took the moment to compare Shin to Naruto. He could see why Tsunade had such high hopes, and with Shin unable to remember who he was, it was almost like Naruto was still here, just as Shin. The likeness between Shin and Naruto continued to surprise Jiraiya. The two boys just looked too much alike. Shin could pass as Naruto's twin brother and everyone would more or less believe them.
"So where are they?" asked Jiraiya. "And how come you came to Konoha by yourself?"
"I went because I wanted to. As for where the three siblings are, one should be near Konoha wandering around and the two are … somewhere," answered Shin. No need to give too much information to Jiraiya.
"I'm hurt! You don't even know where I am, even when I'm standing right behind you."
Shin almost fell out of his chair when he heard the voice. Sasuke's head snapped to the direction of the voice, Jiraiya glanced the same way, and Riku… well Riku didn't do anything. Standing behind Shin was Kai, obsidian black eyes gleaming with mischief.
"What are you doing here!" shouted Shin, drawing everyone in the restaurant's attention that they were in. Upon noticing that, Shin grinned sheepishly.
Kai on the other hand, covered his ears, a sad attempt to stop them from ringing. "Damnit, Shin. You don't have to yell. After all this time, you'd think you would be used to my random appearances. Hotaru does this to you more than I do, but you yell at me?"
Shin just stared at Kai. "Yeah, but it's Hotaru's way of randomly popping up. You always pop up when I'm alone. She pops up in the oddest places at the oddest time. I'm not used to you popping up in crowded places."
Kai pretended to look hurt. "So sorry," he said with a bit of sarcasm. "I'm just delivering letters." He handed Sasuke a letter and told him, "Looks like Tsunade-sama wants a full report on what you're doing and who you're traveling with. Apparently she doesn't trust us. I don't see why. You're safer with Shin and Riku than anywhere else, if you minus that little fact."
They all (except for Jiraiya) knew what Kai meant. Sasuke in the meantime, read the letter quickly. He looked at Kai, his eyes held a question. Shin caught the gist of what was going on. He looked worried.
((Kai. Are you going to let him?))
/Yeah. Kinda have to unless you want an ANBU team on your tails. Just make sure he doesn't mention anything about magic and Slatrommi./
((Okay. Where's Hotaru?))
/Somewhere, doing her job. Jiraiya is here and that's why she hasn't randomly appeared yet./
((Oh.))
Shin turned to Jiraiya who was still watching Kai carefully. "Hey, Jiraiya-san. How long have you been in Wind?"
Jiraiya thought about it. "Couple of days."
"Have you seen anyone with inhuman red eyes and long crimson red hair? He gives a rather evil chill if you stand next to him?" questioned Shin.
Jiraiya was taken aback as Shin's eyes almost glowed a dangerous red color. The atmosphere grew warm and dead serious. He glanced behind Shin. Both Kai and Riku had similar serious expressions on their faces. However, Sasuke didn't seem to know what Shin was talking about. In fact, he looked just as surprised as Jiraiya. However, a slow realization was overcoming him.
"No, I can't say I have," answered Jiraiya. "May I ask why?"
Shin shook his head. "It's better that you don't." The red glow faded, returning the sapphire blue part to the dual color eyes.
Minutes passed…
And hours fell by…
The sun set…
Night came…
Kai left…
Everyone was asleep…
However…
Shin was still awake…
Sitting on the rooftop…
Waiting for the sun to rise…
"Hmm… it's strange to see you up and about so early."
Shin turned around. Hotaru stood behind him, watching him as always. The wind tossed her hair and clothes, causing it rustle and fly. She smiled at him. Shin couldn't help but relax. He had become dependent on her presence. Just the fact that his sister was there was just enough. Not knowing who he was or who his family was, Hotaru was one of the constant things that Shin had grown used to. She had always been there and she always came back.
"So where do you plan to head to next?"
Shin contemplated. "Snow would be the best. It's the closest."
Hotaru shrugged. "It's up to you. Cloud country isn't all too fond of Leaf-nins. So warn Uchiha-san if you do travel there."
"Why didn't you show up today? You usually find a reason to randomly appear everyday."
Hotaru smirked. "I thought I would leave you to your exercise. Besides, I couldn't risk Jiraiya-san knowing about me."
Shin's eyebrow rose. "And it's alright that Kai just pops up."
Hotaru could only smile. "Someone is full of sarcasm today. You checked the letter that Sasuke sent?"
Shin smirked. "Of course and what fun we had."
Flashback-
"Oooo, is that a letter?" asked Riku, reading over Sasuke's shoulder. On the bed, Jiraiya had already crashed out in a drunken state. Without warning, Riku suddenly grabbed the letter and leaped out of Sasuke's attempts to grab it back.
Minutes later, Riku's nose crinkled. "Hey!" he remarked.
"Riku, give that back!" shouted Sasuke.
"Eh?" asked Shin. He and Kai were currently playing cards on another bed. Now why was Sasuke chasing Riku? And why was Riku holding a pen, writing something down?
"Riku!" yelled Sasuke.
Riku ignored the black-haired shinobi and handed the letter to Shin. "Here Shin, read."
Shin blinked and read the letter while Sasuke continued to chase Riku around the room, not noticing the silver-haired Slatrommi no longer had the letter he was seeking. Shin blinked again and re-read the letter. He picked up the pen and added a few changes of his own. Just as he finished, Riku leaped behind Shin for protection.
"Eh?" said Shin. Then an expression of shock as Sasuke threw a kunai in Riku's direction… whom happened to be hiding behind Shin… Shin gave a yelp and ducked, dragging himself into the little chase. So Sasuke was chasing Riku, Riku was chasing Shin, and Shin was running away.
Kai sweat dropped. Oh dear… He picked up the letter and the pen that Shin left behind. Might as well finish this letter. Sasuke wasn't going to be stopping any time soon. Geeze, how could Jiraiya sleep through all of this noise?
End of Flashback-
Hotaru giggled. "I suppose Kai went to deliver the letter."
Shin shrugged. "I guess," he said. "He disappeared earlier. So most likely."
Hotaru shook her head. "Tsunade-san is going to think he's an escaped asylum inmate."
Shin grinned. "Yeah, that's probably right."
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Tsunade sweat dropped and wondered who on earth wrote this letter. It sounded a bit like someone who escaped an insane asylum. She rubbed her forehead. Just who exactly was Sasuke traveling with?
Dear Hokage-samaYou requested in your last letter a detailed report. Since Jiraiya-san is currently knocked out due to drinking too much sake, Shin and Kai playing cards and Riku doing something, I figured this would be the best time to write you the report. Currently we are traveling through Wind Country. Shin, you already know. Riku and Kai are Shin's brothers. Riku can be a bit annoying and he changes moods faster than any girl I've met. (At this point Riku crossed this out and wrote that he was not annoying and that he didn't change moods faster than a girl) Kai pops up randomly. He's okay. Actually I'm not sure what to make of him. Hotaru is Shin's other sibling. She randomly appears everywhere too. I haven't seen her since Wind Count—
(Ink splatters all over the paper)
Hello Tsunade-san. This is Shin. Sasuke… is currently busy. I assure you that I didn't mean to get him mixed up in my problems. You remember that man I told you that I was looking for? Well yeah, he's targeting Sasuke for some reason and until it's safe for him to return to Konoha, he's kinda stuck traveling with me. I hope you don't mind.
(More ink splatters)
Hokage-sama, I regret to inform you that both Shin and Sasuke are currently busy. Sasuke is chasing Riku, Riku is chasing Shin and Shin is just… well running away. See Sasuke believes that Riku still has the letter (the one that I'm writing in) and Riku is using Shin as a human shield and, of course, Shin doesn't want to be a human shield. I assure you, this is perfectly normal behavior. (At least for Riku and Shin it is.) I understand that Jiraiya-san was your teammate. Can you tell me how it is possible that he can sleep through a riot of noise? I was under the impression that shinobi should be ready at a moment's notice. Wouldn't yelling wake and alert any ninja?
Whatever horrible things Sasuke-kun writes about me isn't true! Help!
Umm… that was Riku. He managed to grab the letter back from me. Anyways, Sasuke is in good hands.
(Hotaru will kill me if anything happens to Sasuke or Shin. She's way to fond of her new little brothers.)
Kai
Tsunade would already feel the oncoming headache. Plus that hyper girl, Chi, was slowing getting on her nerves. The girl was cute… just slightly confusing and hard to understand sometimes. Damnit! Sasuke had some explaining to do when he gets back. That is, if she didn't strangle him first.
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Snow Country. Like its name, everything was covered in a thick white blanket of snow. Tall ice mountains could be seen in the distance. Snow and blizzards were a common occurrence, one or the other happening every single day. It was truly a winter wonderland.
It took awhile, a couple days, to get through the flat plains of Snow Country and to a village. But they got there nevertheless.
Shin threw off his hood. "Ah, it feels good to be somewhere warm," he said. Two glares were sent at him as Shin just blinked innocently. Was it his fault that he managed to keep himself warm during the travel just because he had fire magic? Certainly not. (Though it was one of the greater advantages of being a Fire Mage)
"Let's just get out of this snow," commented Jiraiya. The older man had decided to travel with the group of young boys, seeing no harm in it. (Plus he got to continue his research in Snow Country).
They walked inside a local restaurant. It was warm and toasty, the perfect thing after a long journey through the snow. The four travelers shook off the snow from their shoes and cloaks and plopped down in front of the counter of the shop.
As the tea was served to them, Sasuke became aware of the person he was sitting next to. A very familiar face; mind you, one that he hadn't seen in a year. "Seika?" he asked.
Bright sapphire eyes turned to look at him and three heads turned to look at whom Sasuke was talking to. Sitting on the stool, next to Sasuke, was a young lady. Possibly shorter than Shin, her long white hair was tied back. Around her neck was Snow hitai-ate. Seika blinked, surprise filling her blue eyes.
"Uchiha-san? What are you doing here?"
"Traveling."
Now that answer took Seika by surprise. What happened to the ever so monotone voice? Did she just catch a hint of amusement laced within that voice? Mentally, Seika shook her head. No… she had to be imagining things.
"Acquaintances of yours?" she asked next, looking at Shin, Riku, and Jiraiya.
"Something like that," Sasuke answered. How did he classify these three? Jiraiya was this legendary person who rivaled Orochimaru in strength. Sasuke barely knew him other than his name and supposedly his love for naked woman. Riku, Sasuke only knew for a few days and Shin only for a few weeks.
))Riku…((
)Hmm?(
))I need you to check up on Chi for a while. She's complaining about something.((
Riku whined mentally. )Hotaru!( Why did he have to?
))Riku…(( Hotaru's voice rang sternly in his head.
Riku let out a sigh and stood up, drawing his companions' attention. "I gotta check up on something," he said. "I'll be back soon." Then Riku left, heading back into the whiteness of the snow.
Sasuke look questioningly at Shin who only shrugged in response. Shin had no idea where his brother was going. Even if he did, he really doubted he would say anything in front of Jiraiya. Sasuke-kun knew and that was enough outside of the Slatrommi.
"So who is your friend, Sasuke," Shin asked, directing the subject away from why Riku left.
"Usuyuki Seika," Seika introduced herself. "You?"
"Shin," Shin replied simply. There was no need to give a last name when you didn't remember what your last name was. Then he pointed to Jiraiya. "This is Jiraiya and the guy who just walked out was my brother Riku."
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had made the connections with Seika's last name. "Usuyuki as in THE Usuyuki family?" he asked. He was silenced by a glare from the young girl.
"Don't even think of bringing up their name in here," she hissed.
Jiraiya held up his hands, trying to calm the girl by assuring her that he wasn't here for trouble. "Oh no! I was just wondering!"
Seika took a deep breath. She really hated talking about her family… She didn't even know why she bothered to mention her last name anymore. It was a waste of time and effort on her part. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she then said, "Well, it's nice to see you again Uchiha-san. We haven't talked since I left Konoha a year ago."
Upon her words, Sasuke remembered something. "Seika-san," he began. "In your readings of myths and legends, did you ever come across a creature called Segak? They're supposed to be shadows creatures."
Three things happened after Sasuke said that. One was that Seika began to blink rapidly. Two was that Jiraiya gave Sasuke a look of surprise and wondered what kind of question that was. The third was that Shin practically fell out of his chair before giving Sasuke a look that said "What-the-hell-are-you-doing!"
Seika rolled her eyes, not noticing Shin's reaction. "Oh, so the only thing I am to you is a keeper of legends," she said sarcastically. Sasuke waited patiently for her to start. In way her words were true, Seika was a keeper of legends. Particularly in Slatrommi legends, as Sasuke just found out.
He didn't have to wait for long. "Segaks huh?" said Seika. She looked up towards the ceiling, racking her brain for the word. "Oh yes, them… I just started reading about them. They're creatures of shadows who used to live with that other immortal race I told you about."
Sasuke nodded. He remembered them very well. He was traveling with one and two other ones already.
"Segaks were masters of shadows. They were a distant cousin race to the other immortal race. Hence, they were also immortal to time and sickness but not death. It is said they have no true shape, shape shifters if you may. They have to ability to move through any type of shadow, very useful for sneaking up on people. They have three levels of power. The first is black, that is the lowest and the most common Segaks you will find. The next level is red. Out of ten, three will make it to the red level. The final level is blue. This is as dangerous as Segaks can get. Out of a thousand, only one will make it to the blue level," said Seika, mentally leafing through what she knew.
"Conflict broke out between the Segaks and the Slatrommi. The Slatrommi was the other group I told you about. No one knew what the conflict was about but it resulted in a war that lasted for four billion years, I think. Mind you, since both races were immortal to time, that probably was only a fraction of their lives, much different from us, humans', point of view. Let's see. Ah, both sides suffered from many battles. Since humans also co-existed with the Segaks and the Slatrommi at the time, of the three races, it was the humans who suffered the most. After all they had almost no protection against the magic that the Segaks and Slatrommi could use. Also because of our short life span, it would be many generations before we saw peace again.
Of the two races, the Slatrommi suffered the most from war. Most Slatrommi, as I read, didn't want to or understand why they were fighting the war. That was their first mistake as I read that some of them were very powerful, even by their standards. As the war continued, many decided to join the fight, if they already hadn't. What started as their weakness became their strength, and then in the end it became their weakness once more. By the time they started fighting, most Slatrommi had already grown to hate the Segaks. Not an easy task since most Slatrommi were peace loving. The children of the Slatrommi who were born during the war were taught to hate to Segaks for reasons they didn't even know. On the other hand, the Segaks were no better.
Segaks were creatures of shadows, as I said. But unlike their peace-loving cousins, many of them preferred the darkness that loomed in every creature's heart: greed, power, lust, but mostly death and mental/physical torture. But until The Great War started, many humans and Slatrommi never saw this side of the Segaks. I guess at one point, the Segaks were content with the peaceful life they were living. Anyways, the Segaks never had a problem with killing/attacking humans and Slatrommi alike. That was what gave them the edge in the battle."
Seika paused, recollecting her thoughts. Of all the myths and legends she read, the Slatrommi and Segaks legend was the longest. It was the history of two races whom were locked in a bitter battle that took place eons ago. And she was pretty sure that all of what she had told Uchiha-san was true in one-way or another.
Shin, on the other hand, was frowning. He had heard of the stories of the Great War before. Hotaru rarely spoke of it and both Riku and Chi didn't remember it. Shin never thought of asking his foster mother or uncle about it either. Kai avoided the subject completely so anything he knew came from his textbooks and studies. However, what he was hearing was beginning to disturb him.
Seika suddenly sat up straight in her chair. "Ah, I have a better idea," she said, half to herself. Instantly she grabbed the two nearest people to her: Sasuke and Shin, and proceeded to drag the two boys back into the snow. Jiraiya just stared sadly. Why couldn't he be dragged off by a cute girl? Nevertheless, he followed Seika back out into the cold.
As they left, they never saw Hotaru leaning against side of the restaurant listening to every thing that had been said. A sad look glazed over her eyes as the painful memories revived themselves. The Great War… ah, she remembered it a little too clearly and she wished she didn't. She lost Kai for the first time during that war… she didn't want to relive that experience either. Hotaru sighed.
Behind her, a pair of wings appeared. One wing was the same as her Death form ones, the other was the same as her life form ones. (1) With that, she took the air, following Shin and his friends… She didn't like where this was going…
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Thunder Country…
Itachi never wanted to go back there again. What normally took four days for a shinobi to travel through, took him and Kisame ten days. Every single goddamn person asked them to meet their daughter/son. Half of them mistook him for a girl. It took every ounce of willpower Itachi had not to wipe out every single family that they came across.
Someone up there did NOT like him….
(Seito: -Grin- Of course not, Itachi. We just like playing with you.)
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Dusty libraries were never good thing, especially dark, dank, dusty libraries. Shin wasn't sure why Seika had dragged them down here. Suddenly he sneezed. Damnit… there was way too much dust in here. When was the last time someone dusted this place? It was WAY overdue for a cleaning job.
Seika, on the other hand, was searching through countless dusty scrolls. Jiraiya and Sasuke were lighting the thousands of candles that were scattered all over the library. Slowly, the room grew brighter and brighter and Shin could see where he was walking again.
"Ah, here they are," said Seika. She handed a scroll to Shin who nearly lost his balance from the new weight. "The whole history of the Slatrommi and Segaks recovered by the eyes of humans." She unrolled the scroll as Shin continued to stagger under the weight. Seika stopped at the part she was reading. After skimming it for a few seconds she continued her explanation from the restaurant.
"Slatrommi had many battles that turned the tide of the war in their favor. In the Battle of Light, several Slatrommi with the power of light were able to cause much damage to the Segaks as light was their weakness. Those Slatrommi were successful in wiping out three blue ranks, thirty red ranks, and thousands of black ranked Segaks. Another one was called the Battle of the Souls. A Slatrommi with the power of Death wiped out an entire army of Segaks in a single blast and then, everything that was damaged in the blast was repaired as if nothing had ever happened," said Seika.
No sooner had she said that, something clicked deep within Shin's heart. 'It can't be…' he thought. He scanned the scroll for the part Seika was talking about. He soon found it.
Tsugua: 25, Doolb Yrutnec Dinw Reay (2)
Today the Slatrommi celebrate for a reason that doesn't seem all too clear. They have named this battle The Battle of Souls, yet as I watch from a distance I do not understand why they celebrate. The tide had turned once again in the favor of the Slatrommi and all thanks to one female Cosmos Elemental. I have never came cross a stranger Slatrommi or even heard of one possessing such power at such an age. A Slatrommi with the power of Death and possibly Life as well. She was nearly caught by the Segaks army. Then an eerie black light surrounded her and her appearance changed from a sun-kissed brown-haired and amethyst-eyed girl to a chilling black-haired, crimson red-eyed girl. It almost as if someone had ripped out my soul and I stood miles away from where the battle took place. I can only imagine what the Segaks felt upon encountering her. The entire Segaks army was engulfed in a black semi-sphere. When the light cleared, there was nothing but a gaping crater in the ground.
I watched then, as a white light over came that girl. Once more, her appearance changed. Not to her former one, but to one of pure white hair and sapphire blue eyes. Instantly the ground repaired itself, and plants grew, as healthy and strong as before. In moments the area looked new, untouched as if a battle never took place.
The Slatrommi celebrated upon hearing such news and that such a powerful mage was on their side. Yet none of them saw the tears that streamed down that girl's face…
Shin suddenly handed the scroll back to Seika and headed for the doorway. "Yo, Shin. Where are you going?" asked Jiraiya.
"There's something I have to do," said Shin. "Something very important." It was important alright. He had to find his sister. She had some explaining to do…
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(1) Okay in chapter 7 you met both sides of Hotaru (her death side. First time Sasuke saw her was outside of Iruka's room when Iruka was in the hospital. Her life side is when Iruka made the choice at the doors.) So to describe her wings, just think that one is black, leathery and dragon-like and the other is white, feathery and bird-like. If you haven't figured it out yet, Hotaru's powers are both Life and Death. The form in which she often appears in (brown hair, purple eyes) represents the balance between the two. Her life form is the one where she wears white and black means her Death form. Easy right?
(2) Tsugua: 25, Doolb Yrutnec Dinw Reay means Year Wind, Century Blood, 25ft of August.
Seito: Everyone enjoy the chapter? Good, good, we hope we don't overload you with information again. It wasn't that bad… right? Now you can make the birthday girl (and QianYun too) happy and
REVIEW PLEASE!