Sakura and the Prince
of Flowers
By Miss Angel Maxwell
Free Talk: I've actually been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. Kishimoto-sensei never explained Rock Lee's family situation in the manga (or at least hasn't yet) so I got to come up with my own version for this story. It's actually quite important to the plot. His grandpa is a rather odd fellow… says "indeed" a lot. Please comment and tell me what you think. And thank you for your support!
Chapter 14: "I'd Like to Share With You a Bit About the Rock Family"
"You… You know my name…" Sasuke muttered, still in a groggy daze. He felt barely alive and was only vaguely aware of his surroundings, except that he was inside some sort of cabin, tucked in a bed and buried under several blankets. Standing next to him was a little old man who bore an uncanny resemblance to Rock Lee, only fifty years older.
The old one chuckled. "Indeed, I do. I know why you are here, too." He paused, and Sasuke opened his weak mouth as if to speak, but Rock Shin spoke up again before he could say one word. "Ah, do not waste your strength on questions, boy. Not another word until you've gotten some hot food in you."
A bewildered Sasuke watched as the strange little old man ambled over to his fireplace, where a large black pot was hanging over the flames, and began to ladle out a large bowl of something steamy and aromatic. From the smell, the bedridden young man figured it was some kind of curry. Rice curry, his eyes confirmed when Rock Shin placed a hot deep, stoneware bowl into his open hands.
"Eat up," the grandpa urged. "You know, I'm quite relieved that you woke up, young Mister Uchiha. When I found you passed out in the snow I wasn't sure you'd pull through. Whoa now, don't eat too fast. On an empty stomach you have to go slow or you'll make yourself sick."
Sasuke had every intention of heeding the old man's advice, but once he took one warm, savory bite, he wanted to wolf the rest down. He didn't even particularly like curry, yet the mere feeling of it sliding down his throat and filling his belly made it the best meal he'd ever eaten. He didn't even care if it made him sick. As his mouth voraciously ate a second and third helping of curried rice, the Uchiha's eyes were hard at work, scrutinizing his odd host, and taking in every visible detail of his tiny, one-room home.
Rock Shin had probably once been a man of average height, but, like many old men, the years had shrunk him down to less than a meter tall. He had a little goat-like beard, wild, straggly gray hair and even wilder thick gray eyebrows. What most gave him away as Lee's relative, however, were his wide, perfectly round eyes, though his upper eyelids drooped giving them more of a sleepy, half-moon appearance. Despite his age, the jet-black irises gleamed like river stones and still sparked with intelligence. His smile was quaint and optimistic, like Lee's, and he was dressed from head to toe in Chinese styled attire.
His home was easily just as odd. It was a wooden cabin with the seams between the logs filled in with light brown mud, and in the middle of the square room was the large central fireplace and chimney constructed out of sheet metal. Around the hearth were assorted cushions and pillows, and nearby was a patched and shabby armchair, too small for a normal adult but just right for the shrunken Mr. Rock. Two entire walls of the home were completely covered by bookshelves, which were packed to the gills with books, scrolls, artifacts, and specimens. The bed was tucked away almost into a corner, and there was a single window above it offering a pure white view of the outside. What really caught Sasuke's attention, though, was the collection of framed of photographs arranged on a small table beside him, particularly a photo of a young couple.
"That's my son and his family," said Rock Shin, catching Sasuke off guard. "That picture, I mean. I just noticed you looking at it."
"I can, uh, see the resemblance," the young man muttered back. And it wasn't a lie. The man in the photograph was wide-eyed, long-lashed, and thick browed just like Shin and Lee. His long brown hair was held back in a ponytail, and one of his arms was wrapped around a pretty young woman with gentle eyes and a cascade of wavy raven hair. Sasuke was actually a bit surprised that Lee's mother was so gorgeous. He looked at the photo more closely. She was holding her baby in her arms. He couldn't have been more than a few months old, yet the infant in the picture was already unmistakably Rock Lee.
"Yes, Lee was their only child," Shin explained. "I'm afraid my son and his wife are both deceased now. But they were always very proud of their son, as was I. Ah, now you have some life back in you, boy. I hope you don't mind me asking you now, how is that overzealous grandson of mine?"
The last bite of curry suddenly felt like a huge jagged rock in Sasuke's throat as he swallowed. Somehow, he had totally overlooked the fact that Rock Shin didn't know about Lee's death. How could he tell this kind little man who had saved his life that his only grandson was dead? Solemnly, he set down his empty bowl and closed his eyes. Sasuke knew that if he expected this old man to tell him the truth about Sakura, he would have to share the truth about Lee.
"Sir," he said delicately, trying to be as polite and gentle as possible. "Lee is dead."
"I see," the old man replied softly. His entire reaction to the news was very subtle, his round eyes widening slightly in surprise, and then softening into a sort of peaceful sadness, almost as if the news were inevitable. "So, they weren't extinct after all…"
"Hunh?" Sasuke responded.
Shin took off his tiny half-circle spectacles and wiped them with his sleeve. "I'm talking about the Children, of course. That's what killed him, wasn't it?"
Sasuke raked his fingers into his black hair and scratched his head. "Yeah. Well actually, he died killing it. But how did you know it was one of them?"
The old man didn't respond right away, but waddled across the room and pushed his fraying armchair up to Sasuke's bedside and climbed up into it.
"If you don't mind, young Mister Uchiha," he began. "I'd like to share with you a bit about the Rock family."
"Alright," Sasuke replied cautiously, uncertain of what his host would reveal.
Then, with a slight cough to clear his throat, and a small shift in his chair to make himself comfortable, the elder told his family's story. "Starting from before there were written records, the fate of the Rock family, and the lives of all its members have been intimately and irrevocably linked to the Children of the Kyuubi. Put simply, the Rock family exists to keep the Children in check. Now the exact origins of the Children are not known, but there is evidence to show that they are as old as the Kyuubi itself, which would make them thousands of years old. When they first appeared amongst human civilization, the Children seemed invincible, terrorizing villages with no apparent way to stop them. It was in those early decades that a small group of shinobi emerged who had a specialized form of chakra that, when uninhibited by the internal gate system, could be channeled into sudden and intense jutsu that could kill the Children of the Kyuubi."
During a pause, Sasuke couldn't help but ask a question that was already on his mind. "When you say jutsu, do you mean ninjutsu and genjutsu, too, or were they all like Lee?"
"Indeed," Shin replied. "The answer to your query is affirmative. The Rock family is actually known for having mastery over many sorts of ninja and illusionary techniques. Lee was quite an oddball."
That's the understatement of the year, thought Sasuke.
"The very first members of the Rock family were already very talented Shinobi," the old one continued. "They were the only ones who could kill the Children, and were thus very much respect. Unfortunately, their special ability was a double-edged sword. In order to release the necessary chakra to defeat the monster, the shinobi had to open all eight gates and sacrifice his or her life. So they married young and had children right away in order to pass their specialized chakra to their offspring before they died, and their children did the same thing. So the family soon became known as the 'Kamikaze Rock Clan.' Rocks almost always die young."
He stopped when he noticed that his ward was giving him a confused look. "I suppose you might be wondering how I've lived so long," he said. "The truth is, I'm as unusual as my grandson. I never had an aptitude for fighting… a very rare occurrence in the Rock family. I realized at an early age, that the only jutsu I have any talent for are the ancient healing and shamanistic jutsu. So I became a scholar and dedicated my life to studying the Children of the Kyuubi and their connection to my own family line. My dream has always been for my family to be able to live out their lives to the very end and never have to fight another monster. When Lee was a little boy and had no talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu I encouraged him to follow in my footsteps and become an intellectual. Ah, but his will could not be swayed. For young Lee, giving his life to kill one of the Children was more than just a matter of family pride. It had everything to do with that day thirteen years ago."
The old man smiled at Sasuke. "And the events of that day are what brought you up into the mountains to my home. Of course, you did not come to hear the story of the Rock Family and the Children of the Kyuubi. But the information I've given you today might help you understand a bit better what happened thirteen years ago."
Sasuke was now sitting up in bed, feeling strong and very intrigued. "Pardon my asking," he said. "But what did happen that day? I know that a little girl named Haruno Sakura was attacked by one of the Children of the Kyuubi. But why wasn't she killed? And how were you able to save her? I… need to know because… because…" He paused as the ceiling above him creaked loudly.
"Because you now love this girl?" Rock shin asked with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yes," Sasuke answered. "And now that I know that these monsters aren't extinct, and that they've marked her as their prey, I have to know if there is some way I can protect her. Nobody knows more about the monsters than you do. Plus, you were the one who healed Sakura that day. You were there."
"Ah, indeed," he replied. "But you were there, too, my boy. You, Uchiha Sasuke, were there with the girl when she was attacked."
"What!" the young man interjected. "But… how? I don't remember…!"
Shin chuckled. "That's because your memories of that day were sealed… by me, in fact. I'm a bit surprised that they haven't begun to resurface, actually. It was not an impenetrable sealing jutsu I used. For a shinobi as talented as an Uchiha, I'd expect that the memories would have started to seep back into your subconscious by now."
Sasuke suddenly felt a spark of excitement. "Actually, a couple of weeks ago I dreamed about that day! I was just a little boy… and I was there and I saw the monster! And I saw Sakura lying on the ground! Are you saying that it wasn't just a dream? That it was a repressed memory?"
"Indeed," Shin answered.
"Can I ask you something else?" Sasuke asked eagerly. "In my dream there was a little boy with sad eyes and black hair and he was very sweet and gentle and kind to me. Who was he? Do you know?"
The ceiling creaked again and Rock Shin took off his glasses and polished them one more time. "I'm afraid I don't remember any such child being with you that day. No, definitely not. There was another, though. But he was nothing like the boy you've described. No, he was more like…"
The old man's speech was cut off by an earsplitting sound of wooden beams snapping and splintering combined with a young man yelling as a section of ceiling fell into the house with a blinding flurry of snow and shingles. Sasuke stared in complete shock at the pile of crumbled roof and snow in the middle of Rock Shin's home. There in rubble, rubbing a bruised head and coughing, from the dust was a very familiar blonde.
"Naruto!" he stammered. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Shin seemed surprisingly calm for the situation. "Ah, Mr. Uzumaki! How nice of you to drop in! I was just telling your friend Sasuke about an incident that occurred thirteen years ago. I take it you're here for the same reason?"
"Uh… yeah…" Naruto stuttered, still recovering from his rough fall. "I was up on the roof by the chimney to stay warm and I overheard the two of you talking. I wasn't eavesdropping on purpose… it just sort of happened. And I definitely didn't mean to break your roof, Mr. Rock."
"Silly young man," Rock Shin chuckled. "Why didn't you just knock on the door and come in? You would have been more than welcome."
The blonde scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I didn't want Sasuke to know I've been following him all this time… I figured I'd lie in wait until he left and them I'd come see you after he was gone."
"Why were you following me, Naruto?" Sasuke growled.
"Well… I…" the intruder began trying to explain. But the old man interrupted him.
"Do not fight over such things, lads," he chided. "This is perhaps the best thing that could have happened! For you see, you were there too that day, young Mister Uzumaki! And now that you both are here, we can go back to that day!"
The two young shinobi looked at each other in bafflement and then turned to the eccentric little man who seemed utterly delighted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Naruto stammered. "Back up a minute! Sasuke and I were both there the day Sakura was attacked? And you just erased all our memories of it?"
"Not erased, my boy," the old man informed. "I sealed your memories. And that means we can go back and retrieve them!"
"Do you mean we're going to go back in time?" Naruto asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Ah, but that is impossible!" Shin chirped. "We will not actually go back, good lads. But I know a most incredible jutsu that will allow the both of you to witness every detail of that day! Yes! I shall begin preparations right away! And you two should get to work as well!"
Naruto raised a curious eyebrow. "Get to work? On what?"
"Why, fixing my roof of course!" the old man chortled. "You should be good to help him by now, Mister Uchiha. That curry I made for you was a special revitalizing recipe! Your strength should be back tenfold by now!"
"And what are we supposed to use to fix it with?" Naruto whined.
"Forest's full of wood," Shin replied. "And there are some tools out in my shed. Off with you now, whilst I prepare our memory recreating jutsu!"
The young men were not particularly happy to be put to work, not because they didn't want to help the old man, but because they were both so anxious about this mystery jutsu that they were going to experience.
"Do you think we'll be ourselves as kids when we remember?" Naruto asked as he recklessly pounded a nail with a huge hammer. "Or will we be spectators, watching from the sidelines?"
"I don't know," Sasuke grumbled irritably, holding a piece of wood in place over the gaping hole in the roof. "And be a little gentler when you hammer, okay?"
Naruto snorted. "I am being gentle! So how about that Gray Brows in there? Is he a weirdo or what? And what's with him making us work like this?"
"You were the one who broke it," the Uchiha replied. "And Rock Shin isn't a weirdo. He's actually a really nice guy who's all alone. And I think he's a lot more upset over Lee than he wants to show. Lee was his only family, you know."
"Still," Uzumaki went on. "I don't know if I can trust this guy. I mean, how do we know he's going to show us the past? How do we know he's not planning to kill us? Maybe we should make a run for it while we can."
"Then leave!" Sasuke snapped. "I don't know why you even came out here after me! What happened to finding Sakura all on your own? Did you give up already? Well, I can't give up so easily. I came here to find out everything I can about that incident and I'm going to stick around for it! I won't let Sakura down ever again!"
A low growl escaped Naruto's lips. No matter how harmful his pride might be, he couldn't just swallow it and admit to Sasuke that he had been wrong about chasing after Sakura, and that the original plan was the best way for them to help her. "I just figured you could use my help," he said.
Even though he was working on fixing the old man's roof and talking to Sasuke as if nothing really big had happened, Naruto's mind kept drifting off to what Rock Shin had told him, that he was there that day. He thought also about that dream he had the night Sakura left. Even though she hadn't been in it, the monster that attacked her had. Was that dream really a scrap of memory left over from that day? And if so, did that mean that the strange little boy with the flowers really was Sasuke after all?"
But something else was bothering him about Sasuke as well. It was the determination and longing infused into his friend's words. Naruto had a feeling lately that was getting stronger, and now he was completely convinced. Sasuke had finally gotten serious about Sakura. And that meant that he would have little chance of being with her. If Sasuke turned out to be the person who could make Sakura happy forever, Naruto would do whatever he could to make sure that it happened. He smiled wanly at his teammate. Letting go of his old feelings would not be easy.
"Come down! Come down!" an excitedly squeaky old voice sprang from below them. "Indeed! The preparations for your journey are complete! Now, young Misters Uchiha and Uzumaki, you shall re-experience the day you've both forgotten!"
Both boys dropped their tools and clambered down the ladder as fast as they could and scrambled into the house. Three large cushions had been arranged around the fireplace, which now housed a low bluish-green flame that every so often would flicker purple or pink for a moment. In front of each cushion was a small short table on which were arranged three small flasks on two of them. The third table had a single tall skinny flask. Rock Shin took his seat on the cushion behind this table and nodded for the two young men to sit at the other two.
"I hope you don't mind that I will be the conductor this experience," the old man told them, sounding a lot more serious than he had before. "Now, pick up the farthest flask on the left, the brown square one. This one will put your body and mind into a state of unparalleled calm and ease. Go ahead and drink the entire contents."
Both boys did as they were told. It was warm and slightly minty, and as soon as it passed through their throats they began to feel peaceful.
"Now drink the middle one," Shin instructed. "It will unlock the internal barriers between conscious, subconscious, and unconscious parts of the brain and allow for them to mix and swirl and flow."
Sasuke and Naruto drank. This one was spicy, like cinnamon.
"That's funny," Naruto spoke up. "I don't feel any difference. Aren't we supposed to be remembering everything now?"
"Be patient," Shin urged. "Now I will spin what is being released unseen from your minds into a genjutsu that will recreate that day from your memories as well as my own. The last bottle in front of you will take you inside the illusion… It will be like no jutsu you have experienced ever before. Now, drink up."
Sasuke drank his immediately, but Naruto hesitated. "Wait a minute," he asked. "What's in the flask on your table, then?"
The old man grinned mischievously. "Sake, of course."
Now completely satisfied that this man was a nut, Naruto drank his medicine. And the world around the two young men spiraled away.
To be continued…
-
Free Talk 2: Next time around we see what really happened that day and the true identity of the Prince. For the record, it isn't Lee… But it might be a long chapter. We'll see!